Seaside Heights Special Officer Charged With Child Porn Distribution

A Seaside Heights police officer has been fired from his job after his arrest Wednesday on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography.

Kevin Meier, 21, of Seaside Heights, has been charged with one count of second-degree distribution of child pornography and one count of third-degree possession of child pornography, according to a joint announcement from Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato and Seaside Heights Police Chief Thomas Boyd.

Meier was arrested Wednesday after a search warrante was executed at his Sheridan Avenue home, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. Members of the Ocean County High Tech Crime Unit, the South Toms River Police Department, and the Seaside Heights Police Department executed the warrant.

Boyd immediately terminated Meier’s employment and confiscated all assigned uniforms and equipment, Della Fave said.

The investigation was initiated by a referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which was forwarded on June 12 by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Della Fave said. The referral advised that an individual in Ocean County had uploaded suspected child pornography to the internet.

The Ocean County High Tech Crime Unit identified the source as Meier’s residence. The executed search warrant and subsequent investigation resulted in the confiscation of numerous files related to child pornography at his residence, Della Fave said.

Meier was taken into custody at 6:30 p.m. at Seaside Heights Police Headquarters, where he was employed as a Class II Special Police Officer, Della Fave said.

After review of the submitted investigation, Assistant Prosecutor Kristin Pressman approved charges of one count of third-degree possession of child pornography and one count of second-degree distribution of child pornography.

Meier is being held in the Ocean County Jail lieu of $50,000 bail, no 10 percent, set by Judge James Gluck.