Richard Knight, 40, of New Egypt, was sentenced on Friday, April 1, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Knight will also be subject to the terms of Megan’s Law, along with parole supervision for life.
This investigation, which began in December 2020, was the result of numerous referrals from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Billhimer said. The Task Force detected that a user of the program "Google Meets" was uploading images of child pornography to the internet, the prosecutor said.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit identified a residence in New Egypt as the source of the uploaded images of child pornography. On June 9, 2021, Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, US Homeland Security Investigations, and Plumsted Township police made a warranted search at Knight’s residence in New Egypt, Billhimer said. Detectives seized two cell phones from the residence.
The investigation also revealed that Knight distributed child pornography using Google Meets and other social media platforms, the prosecutor said.
Knight was subsequently arrested at his place of employment in Browns Mills on June 9, 2021.
He has been held in the Ocean County Jail since that date.
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