Roselle Man Who Had 16K Child Porn Videos, Photos Gets 5 Years

ROSELLE, NJ — A Union County man who had more than 16,000 videos and images of child pornography on his computers and shared them through Twitter was sentenced to five years in state prison on Friday, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced.

Charles Diggs, 37, of Roselle pleaded guilty on Dec. 11 to second-degree distribution of child pornography. He will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.

“Diggs’ huge collection of child pornography illustrates the scope of this problem, both in terms of the number of children who are brutally abused to produce these materials and the length to which offenders will go to satisfy their deviant desires,” said Grewal.

The investigation began when the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding a Twitter account that was uploading child pornography, according to Grewal.

Authorities traced the Twitter account to Diggs and identified 12 images of child pornography that Diggs had distributed through the Twitter account, according to the report.

Diggs was arrested on Sept. 3, 2016 at his home in Roselle where five computers and numerous hard drives were seized.

A full forensic examination of the computer equipment at the Regional Forensic Computer Laboratory in Hamilton revealed more than 16,000 files of child pornography, including numerous videos depicting the rape of very young children.

“Beyond the large volume of child pornography seized, this case is noteworthy because it demonstrates that offenders are finding new ways to distribute this filth, including Twitter,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We urge parents to be aware of this dark side of the internet and social media and be vigilant to protect and educate their children against the dangers.”

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: Charles Diggs, 37, of Roselle)

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