South Jersey Cop Had Child Pornography: Prosecutor

VINELAND, NJ — A South Jersey police officer possessed several images showing the sexual exploitation of minors, authorities said Wednesday. Christopher Ortiz, an Estell Manor resident, works for the Vineland Police Department, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

Ortiz, 38, was charged March 21 with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child. He was arrested without incident, prosecutors said.

On March 20, the prosecutor's office received a tip from Synchronoss Technologies, Inc., which referenced files one of its users uploaded. Synchronoss, a cloud-bases storage provider, found that the files contained apparent sexual exploitation of children, authorities said.

The referral showed 76 uploaded files, according to the prosecutor's office. Detectives confirmed that multiple files contained children engaged in prohibited sexual acts, authorities said.

The forwarded referral contained subscriber information with a phone number. Verizon indicated that the number was registered to Ortiz, prosecutors said.