NEWARK, N.J. – A Morris County, New Jersey man who works at a New Jersey elementary school and helps run a youth soccer club has been charged with producing, possessing and mailing child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today.
Steven Brooks, 34, of Morristown, New Jersey, is charged with one count of production of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of mailing child pornography. He is scheduled to appear by videoconference today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers were notified in January 2021 about possible child pornography on an external hard drive belonging to Brooks. The investigation revealed that Brooks used a fake online persona on a social media account to solicit nude photos and videos from teenage victims.
A video file on Brooks’s external hard drive showed the fake online persona that Brooks created using a social media platform to communicate with a minor and to solicit the minor to send a video that depicted the minor masturbating. There were dozens of other images of child sexual abuse.
The production of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison. The possession of child pornography charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The mailing of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison. Each charge also includes a maximum fine of $250,000.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents from the Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force of the Newark field office of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., as well as special agents from the FBI’s San Francisco field office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair, with the investigation leading to the charges and arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Violent Crimes Unit in Newark. Brooks is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Related Federal Cases
- James Thiel, Child Pornography Production, New Jersey 2019 · Pennsylvania
- Robert Pritchett, Child Pornography Production, NY 2023 · New York
- Hubert Young, Sextortion and Child Pornography Production, NJ 2024 · Pennsylvania
- Michael Janeski, Production of Child Pornography, NJ 2017 · Pennsylvania
- Amanda Errin Hunt, Child Pornography Production, MO 2024 · Missouri
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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