Crime & Safety

Former Mahwah Councilman Dodges Prison On Child Porn Charges

Charles "Chuck" Jandris was sentenced to five years probation. He faced a maximum of 10 years in prison, but struck a plea deal in February.

MAHWAH, NJ — A former Mahwah councilman and financial director at the Children's Learning Center of Mahwah received five years of probation after he took a plea deal on child porn charges.

Charles "Chuck" Jandris faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the charge that he possessed less than 100 child pornography files.

On Friday, however, Grandis was sentenced to five years probation after reaching a plea deal earlier in the year, Northjersey.com first reported.

Find out what's happening in Mahwahfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

According to the publication, the plea deal came as a result of a lengthy case, and because prosecutors were unable to access all files on Grandis' hard drive.

Grandis' attorney told Judge Christopher Kazlau that his client was "extremely remorseful."

Find out what's happening in Mahwahfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Grandis was arrested in February 2019 after a multi-month investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. He was working as a financial director at the Children's Learning Center at the time of his arrest.

The Prosecutor's Office received information that Jandis had viewed or possessed child pornography files, and, according to officials, confirmed that he used the internet to "view and possess" digital files showing "nude and sexually explicit prepubescent children," according to a Patch report at the time.

Jandris was appointed to a vacant seat on the township council in April 2011, and served on the board until 2014. He had served on the planning board for 12 years prior to that, and was the captain of Mahwah Ambulance Company No. 4, according to a Patch report.

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