Brick Man Sent Child Porn Via Messaging App: Prosecutor

BRICK, NJ — A Brick Township man is facing a child pornography charge after authorities found he was uploading images of child sexual abuse via Kik, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.

Christopher Budelman, 35, was arrested Tuesday at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as he returned from a trip out of the country, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Budelman had been identified after the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force found a person was uploading child sexual abuse images to the internet using Kik, Billhimer said. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit traced the messages to a Verizon Wireless account and to Budelman, he said.

A search of Budelman's home on Sept. 27 led to the seizure of a desktop computer, the hard drive of which had nine videos of child sexual abuse, the prosecutor's office said.

It was then detectives learned Budelman was out of the country, and an arrest warrant was issued for him and entered into the National Crime Information Center Database, Billhimer said.

Budelman, who is charged with possession of child pornography, was arrested Tuesday by officers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's investigations unit and will be extradited to Ocean County, where he will be held pending a detention hearing, Billhimer said.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations Unit, New Jersey State Police K-9 Unit, and Brick Township Police Department investigated, along with the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.