Jay J. Howe of Bordentown Township was charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Bordentown Township Police Chief Brian Pesce.
Howe, who is a member of a volunteer fire department in Bordentown City, was arrested on Wednesday, Feb. 9
Howe was taken into custody at his residence after a warranted search, the prosecutor said. Electronic devices seized during the search will be examined by detectives from the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit.
The investigation began in December after the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit received information regarding Howe’s cyber activities from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The investigation revealed that Howe was using an app to send and receive videos containing child sexual abuse material, Coffina and Pesce said.
The investigation was conducted by the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit, with assistance from US Homeland Security Investigations – Cherry Hill Office, New Jersey State Police, the Bordentown Township Police Department and the Evesham Township Police Department. The lead investigator was BCPO Detective Jennifer Appelmann.
Howe was being held in the Burlington Jail in Mount Holly pending a detention hearing in Superior Court.
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