NEW JERSEY – A Morris County man who is employed by a New Jersey elementary school and helps run a youth soccer club has been charged in connection with production, possession and mailing child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced Tuesday.
Steven Brooks, 34, of Morristown is charged with one count of production of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of mailing child pornography. He was scheduled to appear by videoconference Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor, Honig said.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, in January 2021, law enforcement officers were notified about possible child pornography on an external hard drive belonging to Brooks. Law enforcement officers conducted a legally authorized search of Brooks’ external hard drive. The investigation revealed that Brooks used a fake online persona on a social media account to solicit nude photos and videos from teenage victims. A video file on Brooks’s external hard drive showed the fake online persona that Brooks created using a social media platform to communicate with a minor and to solicit the minor to send a video that depicted the minor masturbating. There were dozens of other images of child sexual abuse.
The production of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison. The possession of child pornography charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The mailing of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison. Each charge also includes a maximum fine of $250,000.
