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Trent Collier, a 55-year-old "family service specialist" for the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency, had arrived on a flight from the Dominican Republic last week when his luggage was searched, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said.
"Law enforcement" officers conducting forensic searches of both devices found "at least two images of child pornography depicting the genitals of prepubescent children," according to a complaint filed by a federal Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations agent.
"One image depicts a fully nude prepubescent boy and fully nude prepubescent girl on a bed," says the complaint, on file in U.S. District Court in Newark. "The boy appears to have an erect penis, and the girl is holding it.
"The second image depicts a nude adult woman lying on a bed with a fully nude prepubescent girl. The woman is touching the girl's genitalia."
Collier, of Kearny, admitted exchanging the images for others via WhatsApp, the complaint says. It doesn't say why his devices were selected for searches.
Collier, who became a state child services worker in 2020, has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the case, authorities said.
A federal judge in Newark released him on $50,000 unsecured bond following a video-conferenced first appearance on child porn possession charges last Tuesday.
Honig credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations with the investigation leading to the charges, handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Calle of her Criminal Division in Newark.
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