Crime & Safety

Cops Find ‘Child Sex Abuse Material’ In Dorm At Montclair State

A Montclair State University student has been accused of trying to sexually exploit underage children with fake social media accounts.

A Montclair State University student has been accused of trying to sexually exploit underage children with fake social media accounts, authorities announced Monday.
A Montclair State University student has been accused of trying to sexually exploit underage children with fake social media accounts, authorities announced Monday. (File Photo: Alex Mirchuk/Patch)

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A Montclair State University student has been accused of trying to sexually exploit underage children with fake social media accounts, authorities announced Monday.

State police and the Montclair State University Police Department carried out a search warrant at the dorm room of Keyon Luff, 21, of Edgewater Park, around 7 a.m. on May 3, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

Detectives arrested Luff and seized several digital devices from his room, later determining that he was in possession of “child sexual abuse and exploitation material” (CSAEM).

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According to prosecutors, Luff – a junior at Montclair State University – created fictitious social media accounts to contact underage children and engage in sexually explicit conversations. In some of those conversations, Luff directed children to perform sexual acts, record them and send them to him via social media platforms.

Police processed Luff and transported him to the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, where he is being held pending a detention hearing. He has been charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child for manufacturing CSAEM, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child for possession of CSAEM, and third-degree impersonation, prosecutors said.

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Authorities said the investigation that led to Luff’s arrest was initiated by the state Division of Criminal Justice’s Cybercrime Bureau after it got a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The nonprofit said a cloud-based file hosting service reported that several files of suspected CSAEM were uploaded to its platform.

“Through investigative measures, investigators were able to determine that the internet protocol address used to upload the CSAEM files was associated with Montclair State University,” prosecutors said. “Further investigation identified Luff as a suspect.”

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