Child Porn Sweep Results in Charges for Toms River Man

A Toms River man was among those charged in a month-long sweep of alleged child pronographers by local and federal authorities, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Monday. 

Members of multiple law enforcement agencies, including police from Toms River, Berkeley, and Lacey, assisted the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in the sweeps, according to prosecutor's office spokesman Al Della Fave. 

Though the first charges were issued to a Toms River man in mid-May, details of the sweep were not released until Monday to "maximize the number of individuals located in the sweep," Della Fave said in a statement. 

The first arrest came on May 15 when the Ocean County Prosecutor’s High Tech Crime Unit and Toms River Police Department executed a search warrant on Down Hill Run, where child pornography allegedly was being downloaded and distributed over the Internet, Della Fave said. 

Following a search, Christopher Pontrelli, 27, of that address was taken into custody and charged with two counts of second degree distribution of child pornography and two counts of fourth degree possession of child pornography, according to Della Fave. 

Police said Pontrelli was downloading and viewing child pornography and utilizing a file sharing program. A forensic preview of the computers located in Pontrelli's room allegedly located numerous movie files of child pornography, Della Fave said. 

Bail for Pontrelli was set by Toms River Municipal Court at $50,000 no 10 percent option, according to Della Fave. He was lodged in the Ocean County Jail in default of bail.

On May 23, multiple county and federal agencies were joined by Berkeley and South Toms River police for a child porn distribution investigation at Third Avenue in Manitou Park. 

After an investigation there, it was alleged by authorities that Nicholas Hernandez, 25, was knowingly searching for and downloading child pornography, Della Fave said. 

Hernandez was charged with one count of second degree distribution of child pornography and one count of fourth degree possession of child pornography, according to Della Fave.  

Bail for Hernandez was set at $50,000 no 10 percent option and he has been lodged in Ocean County Jail in default of bail, Della Fave said. 

On June 11, the prosecutor's office and Berkeley Police executed a search warrant at Staysail Court in Bayville. for possession and distribution of child pornography, Della Fave said. 

The referral for the investigation came to local authorities from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The investigation found that a juvenile male suspect allegedly was sharing child pornography using Google Images, according to Della Fave.

The juvenile’s computer was seized and he was turned over to Detective Scott Stoker of the Berkeley Township Police department. The juvenile, who was not identified by authorities, was charged with one count of fourth degree possession of child pornography and turned over to the custody of his parents, Della Fave said.

The final charges in the sweep came on June 17, when county and Lacey authorities executed a search warrant on Lakewood Avenue in Forked River, Della Fave said.

A proactive investigation led detectives to believe that a person located at the residence allegedly possessed and was sharing child pornography over the Internet, according to Della Fave.

As a result of the search Chad Zehner, 33, of that residence was arrested and charged with one count of fourth degree possession of child pornography and one count of second degree distribution of child pornography, Della Fave said.  

Zehler's bail was set at $35,000 no 10 percent option and he was transported to Ocean County Jail in default of bail, according to Della Fave. 

Also charged in the sweeps were John Rupert Woods, 25, of Jackson and Jesus Hernandez-Juarez of Mexico, who was living in Lakewood. The immigration statuses of Hernandez-Juarez and two other men found at his residence will be investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Della Fave said.