TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River man has been charged with distributing and possessing child pornography after an investigation, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday.
Cory M. Baxter, 32, was charged with one count each of distribution of child sexual abuse material and of possession of child sexual abuse material, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
The prosecutor's office High Tech Crime Squad investigated after receiving a tip referred by the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about someone sending and receiving images of child pornography from the internet.
The prosecutor's office identified the IP address and tracked it to the Toms River home where the person — later identified as Baxter — was accessing images of child pornography from the internet via a Kik messaging application.
Baxter's home was searched on Tuesday and an initial forensic examination of his electronic devices showed the email address associated with the Kik account was on Baxter’s cellular device, the prosecutor's office said.
He was arrested and taken to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River, pending a detention hearing.
A full forensic examination of Baxter’s electronic devices is pending, the prosecutor's office said.
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