ANOTHER OC CHILD PORNOGRAPHER INTERDICTED BY OCPO AND CYBER NET PARTNERS

Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato and Brick Township Police Chief James Riccio announced the arrest of DAVID MICHAEL COURTNEY, 18, of Brick.  Courtney is charged with one (1) count of 3rd Degree Possession of Child Pornography.  The Ocean County Prosecutor’s High Tech Crime Unit (HTCU), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Brick Township Police Department teamed up in this latest proactive operation to stop child exploitation.

The arrest is the result of proactive cyber monitoring by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit and a referral from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to HSI, advising that a group was identified as sharing child pornography and originating out of Canada.  The subsequent investigation revealed that an already active investigation by Ocean County Prosecutor’s HTCU had direct connectivity to the referral received and had already determined Courtney to be the source of the images emanating from Ocean County.

On Wednesday (6/27), the investigation culminated with OCPO HTCU, HSI and Brick Police executing a search warrant at 103 Waters Edge Court in Brick. The court approved search resulted in evidence supporting the above charge.  The charge was approved by Senior Assistant Prosecutor Kristin Pressman and Courtney was arrested.  He is being held in the Ocean County Jail pending a first appearance.

The media and the public are reminded that criminal charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.