Mercer County Sheriff's Officer Indicted for Allegedly Illegally Providing Photos of Underage Suspect to Newspaper

A Mercer County Sheriff’s Officer has been indicted by a state grand jury on charges that he illegally provided three photos of an underage suspect to a newspaper, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said

Christopher J. McKenna, 37, of Hamilton, was assigned to the Mercer County Criminal Courthouse before being initially charged in October and suspended.

He was indicted on charges of second-degree official misconduct and second-degree wrongful access and disclosure of information.

He allegedly illegally accessed a restricted law enforcement database to obtain three arrest photos of a child.

Before accessing the database, a person must accept the website’s terms of use, which includes a statement that reads, “Information contained on this Website may only be used for law enforcement purposes. Except law enforcement agencies, information contained on this Website shall not be disseminated to any other individual or entity…. Unauthorized use of the Website may result in criminal prosecution.”

He then allegedly provided those photos to The Trentonian on or about Aug. 21, in violation of New Jersey law prohibiting public disclosure of juvenile court records.

The newspaper then ran the three photos, along with the juvenile’s identity and identities of their three arrests.

McKenna faces between three and five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000 if convicted.