Union County Man Found Guilty Of Sharing Child Porn

ELIZABETH, NJ — A Union County man was found guilty of sharing child pornography and storing more than 1,400 images and videos of child porn, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal.

Jerrel D. Harris, 32, of Elizabeth was convicted of second-degree distribution of child pornography, second-degree offering child pornography (storing or maintaining child pornography using a file-sharing program) and third-degree possession of child pornography.

Harris was arrested in 2014 in Operation Predator Alert, a multi-agency child pornography sweep that resulted in the arrest of 28 people in New Jersey who used a file-sharing network to distribute child pornography online.

A video of a girl, believed to be 2 to 4 years of age, being raped by an adult male was found by authorities on a file-sharing network that was linked to an IP address that was traced to Harris.

On July 14, 2014, a search of Harris’ residence in Elizabeth found a laptop computer that contained more than 1,400 images and videos of child pornography.

Harris is scheduled to be sentenced on March 16 and could face five to 10 years in state prison on the second-degree crimes. He will also be subject to registration as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and parole supervision for life.

“Offenders like Harris who share child pornography online perpetuate the victimization of the children who are sexually assaulted to produce these vile materials, and they further motivate those who commit these horrific assaults,” said Grewal. “Protecting children is our highest priority, and we will continue to collaborate across all levels of law enforcement to send these offenders to prison.”

“We want those who share this filth on the internet to know they are sharing evidence of their crimes with law enforcement,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We have the technology to locate them, and when we do, we will arrest them and convict them of serious crimes.”

Grewal and Honig urged anyone with information about the distribution of child pornography on the internet – or about suspected improper contact by unknown persons communicating with children via the internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children – to contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007.

(Image via Attorney General: Jerrel D. Harris, 32, of Elizabeth)

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