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Ocean County prosecutor’s detectives initially investigated Christopher Budelman, 36, of Brick, leading to an arrest in late September 2022.
Following up on a referral from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the prosecutor's investigators learned that Budelman used the Kik Messenger App to upload and share images of child sexual abuse, authorities said at the time.
Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Newark took it from there.
They found that Budelman “enticed at least two minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct while he masturbated” online, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
“Budelman recorded and saved those video chats on his computer,” then shared them with others, Sellinger added.
A U.S. District Court judge in Newark ordered Budelman detained on federal charges of producing and distributing the images following a brief video-conferenced hearing on Monday, Sept. 18,
“Budelman shamefully targeted the most vulnerable members of society for far too long and is now being held accountable for the trauma he generated in his solicitation of child abuse material,” said Acting HSI Newark Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Kurtz.
Sellinger credited special agents from Kurtz’s office along with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, New Jersey State Police, and Brick Township police with the investigation leading to the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Super Pitts of his Criminal Division in Trenton is handling the case for the government.
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