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Authorities found images on his cellphone after Trent Collier, 57, of Kearny, arrived at Newark Airport on a flight from the Dominican Republic, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said.
Collier was targeted because he'd apparently exchanged images on the phone while out of the country, investigators said.
He ended up taking a deal from the government rather than risking the potential outcome of a trial, pleading guilty on May 21 last week in federal court in Newark to possessing and transporting child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti scheduled sentencing for Oct. 10.
Collier's guilty plea is "a startling departure from his responsibilities as a former civil servant," said Homeland Security Investigations Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker.
"For two decades, Trent Collier was employed in a position of trust with the state of New Jersey, given the responsibility to care for the most vulnerable, and asked to serve and empower at-risk children and families," the acting SAC said.
Sellinger credited Walker's special agents and the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General with the investigation leading to the plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren D. Kober of his General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The U.S. attorney also thanked New Jersey State Police.
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