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John Green, of Washington Township, became the center of an investigation when the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office identified possible child sex abuse materials on a BitTorrent site — a peer-to-peer file sharing network — in Morris County, Morris County First Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood said.
The Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office referred this information to the Morris County Prosecutor’s ICAC Task Force of the Sex Crimes / Child Endangerment Unit.
Further investigation found numerous media files, each depicting the alleged sexual exploitation or abuse of a minor, stored on the BitTorrent site. Even more concerning, these were accessible for download, Calderwood said.
The BitTorrent was associated with Green's home, where he lives alone. A search of his electronic devices revealed additional items of suspected CSAM on his computer. An initial review revealed more than 1,000 items of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), the prosecutor said.
Defendant was arrested on the above charges on June 2. Following his arrest, on June 19, he was detained in the Morris County Facility, pursuant to the Criminal Justice Reform Act.
Green has been charged with one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Maintaining a Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Program of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM)), a first degree offense in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4B(5)(a)(iii), and one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of CSAM), a second degree offense in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24- 4B(5)(b)(ii).
If anyone has any information related to this investigation, they are encouraged to call the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force of the Sex Crimes / Child Endangerment Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at 973-285-6200.
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