Child Porn Charges Filed Against Morris Plains Inmate

MORRIS PLAINS, NJ — A Morris Plains man is facing additional charges after police say they found child pornography in his possession.

Amit Bhatt, 43, of Morris Plains, who had already been detained since the beginning of 2022 on suspicion of child sex assault, was charged on Jan. 5 with a separate child pornography offense, according to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella.

“Following Bhatt’s arrest in January 2022, a court-authorized search warrant was executed on his cellular phone. The cellular telephone was extracted and an analysis of the extraction revealed images of child pornography,” officials said.

Bhatt, an accountant, was served with the charge while incarcerated at the Morris County Correctional Facility, where he remains pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court.

Bhatt was first arrested in January 2022 in connection with sexually abusing a child under the age of 13, and was later charged with sexual assault and child endangerment, according to Musella.

Bhatt's first court date has not yet been scheduled, according to Elizabeth Rebein, an assistant prosecutor for Bergen County.

Authorities did not provide any additional information about the case.

This article has been updated to include a comment from the assistant prosecutor for Bergen County.