Freehold Township Man Admits Swapping Child Porn On Social Media Site: Prosecutor

FREEHOLD, NJ – A Freehold Township man has admitted to swapping child pornography via the social media application, "Kik," Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced Friday.

Daniel Deluca, 23, of Franklin Drive in Freehold Township, pleaded guilty Thursday to three counts of endangering the welfare of a child for the distribution of child pornography before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Thomas F. Scully, said Charles Webster, spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

In pleading guilty, Deluca admitted he sent emails and text messages containing items of child pornography, and distributed child pornography using the social media messenger known as “Kik,” Webster said.

The application allows users to create free accounts and communicate similar to text messaging over a smartphone's data plan or a wifi connection, according to the website Web Trends. It allows for an unlimited number of messages, the site said, as well as trading of photos.

In exchange for Deluca's guilty plea, the state will recommend an aggregate sentence of 10 years in prison, with a five-year period of parole ineligibility, Webster said. Deluca also will be subject to the provisions of “Megan's Law” and parole supervision for life, he said.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2017, before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Thomas F. Scully. Webster said.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office's Computer Crimes Unit, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received a tip about Deluca's activities Jan. 14, 2014, Webster said. The tip indicated that two videos of suspected child pornography were emailed using an AOL Instant Messenger email address from an IP address in defendant's home, he said.

After the execution of a search warrant, the two videos attached to the email were located on Deluca’s computer, Webster said. Forensic examinations of defendant's computer and cell phone, along with a review of the contents of his cloud storage account, revealed Deluca possessed and distributed numerous images and videos of child pornography, he said.

Screenshot, by Karen Wall