SOMERSET, NJ (Somerset County) – A Somerset County man was charged with receipt and possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced on Wednesday.
Elliott Souder, 51, of Somerset was charged by complaint and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh in Trenton federal court on May 6, Habba said.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, from at least September 20, 2021 through November 16, 2021, Souder, via his home computer, connected to an Internet-based peer-to-peer network and requested three videos depicting child sexual abuse.
When members of law enforcement executed a search warrant at Souder’s Somerset residence in March 2022, they found over 1,000 images and videos of child pornography on Souder’s computer’s hard drive, including two of the aforementioned videos previously requested over the peer-to-peer network. Some of the images and videos depicted prepubescent children, toddlers and infants, and sadomasochism on children.
The charge of receipt of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.
