OLD BRIDGE, NJ – A 39-year-old man is behind bars after investigators say he posed as a teenage boy on Snapchat using stolen photos and videos to engage in sexually exploitative behavior involving minors.
Daniel Berwick of Old Bridge was arrested Tuesday at his home without incident following a child pornography investigation led by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities say the probe began after a cyber tip from the New Jersey State Police flagged concerning online activity.
Detective Ken McGarry of the ICAC Unit led the investigation, which alleges that Berwick used deceptive media to impersonate a 17-year-old boy on Snapchat. Following the execution of a search warrant at his residence, Berwick was taken into custody and hit with a series of high-level charges.
He is charged with the following offenses:
- First-degree Production of Child Sexual Abuse Material
- Second-degree Manufacturing of Child Sexual Abuse Material
- Second-degree Aggravated Sexual Extortion
- Second-degree Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material
- Third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child
- Third-degree Using Deceptive Audio/Video Files to Further a Crime
- Third-degree Distributing Obscene Material to a Child
Berwick is currently being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Facility pending the outcome of a Pre-Trial Detention hearing.
The investigation involved cooperation from multiple agencies, including the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Old Bridge Police Department, Dallas (Texas) Police Department, and the FBI Newark Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
The case remains under investigation, and anyone with information is urged to contact Detective McGarry at the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
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Key Points
- Daniel Berwick, 39, was arrested at his Old Bridge home in a child exploitation investigation
- He allegedly posed as a 17-year-old on Snapchat using stolen media
- Berwick faces multiple charges including production of child sexual abuse material and aggravated sexual extortion