Island Heights Man Arrested On Child Porn Charges: US Attorney

TRENTON, NJ – An Island Heights man is facing child pornography charges after authorities found more than 100 photos and videos on tablet seized from his home, federal authorities said.

Joseph J. Punderson, 31, was arrested following the search that happened Wednesday morning, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said.

He is charged with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, and was ordered held without bail by U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni.

According to the complaint, authorities received leads from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and others that led to the discovery of evidence showing email and social media accounts associated with Punderson were used in connection with child pornography offenses between May 2019 and November 2019.

When authorities searched Punderson's home, he was present and admitted he was the user of the accounts and that he had viewed and downloaded images of child pornography from the internet, the complaint said. He also told authorities some of those images were on a tablet in his bedroom.

Authorities seized the tablet along with other computers, and on the tablet found more than 100 photos and videos of child pornography, including ones showing prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The charge of knowingly receiving child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison, and the charge of knowingly possessing child pornography carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.

The Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, Atlantic City; the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, and the Island Heights Police Department cooperated in the investigation.

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