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Alec Donovan, 24, of Brick Township also used an app to “solicit and engage in conversations with minors, including requesting nude photographs from the minors and sending nude photographs to them,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said.
Donovan, who records show has coached at the Shorething Wrestling Club in Lakewood, “sent three videos containing images of child sexual abuse and received two videos containing images of child sexual abuse via the web-based messaging application” earlier this year, Honig said.
“The videos Donovan sent and received depicted sexual acts involving pre-pubescent children,” she added.
A U.S. District Court magistrate judge in Newark released Donovan on $100,000 unsecured bond following a brief court appearance on Wednesday, Honig said. He's charged with receiving and distributing child pornography, she said.
Meanwhile, the FBI made a unique appeal:
“We are asking for the public’s attention with respect to this case," Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch, Jr. said. "Not just as a cautionary tale, but because we think it’s possible that our list of victims is incomplete."
"If anyone has had contact with this defendant – or has a child that has had contact – that gives them pause, reach out to us by email at NK-victim-assistance@fbi.gov or by phone at 1-800-CALL-FBI,” Crouch said.
“Parents should keep in mind that predators lurk in places where they hope to find victims - like online gaming sites and social media,” he added. “Staying engaged with your children is the best way to thwart the monsters that are hiding in cyberspace, as well as in plain sight.”
Donovan, a 2015 New Jersey state champ at Brick Memorial High School, came out in an interview with outsports.com and became the NCAA’s first openly gay wrestler in what turned into a bumpy ride.
SEE: Gay New Jersey high school wrestling state champ comes out on college recruiting trip
He initially attended California Polytechnic State University but was redshirted his freshman year, sustained a concussion and lost his scholarship.
Donovan, who reportedly suffered homophobic insults from certain classmates, transferred to Centenary University in Hackettstown, where he became the school's first Greco Roman All-American. He also was an unofficial spokesperson and counselor for gay teens.
SEE: Before Alec Donovan became the NCAA’s first publicly gay wrestler, he had to win a lifelong match with a private pain that other gay athletes understand too well (NCAA Champion Magazine)
“I am a hard working dedicated man to improving my life and lives of others,” he recently wrote in an online profile. “I am an LGBT advocate as well as a coach. Recently graduated college from Centenary University with a bachelors of art in history....I am always looking for room to grow and prosper.”
Honig credited special agents of the FBI with the investigation leading to the arrest. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicole F. Mastropieri of her Health Care Fraud Unit and Shawn Barnes of the Economic Crimes Unit are handling the case for the government.
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