by Joel Bewley, BCPO
BORDENTOWN, NJ – Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Bordentown Township Police Chief Brian Pesce announced that a 36-year-old Bordentown Township man has been charged with possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.
Jay J. Howe, of the first block of Kennebec Court, was charged with three counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (two Second Degree and one Third Degree). The case will be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment.
Howe, who is a member of a volunteer fire department in Bordentown City, was arrested February 9 and lodged in the Burlington Jail in Mount Holly pending a detention hearing in Superior Court.
Howe was taken into custody at his residence following the execution of a search warrant. Electronic devices seized during the search will be examined by detectives from the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit.
The investigation began in December after the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit received information regarding Howe’s cyber activities from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The investigation revealed that Howe was using an app to send and receive videos containing child sexual abuse material.
The investigation was conducted by the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit, with assistance from United States Homeland Security Investigations – Cherry Hill Office, the New Jersey State Police, the Bordentown Township Police Department and the Evesham Township Police Department. The lead investigator was BCPO Detective Jennifer Appelmann.
The BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit and HSI – Cherry Hill are members of the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The BCPO also belongs to the New Jersey State Police Cyber Terrorism Task Force.