Prosecutors say investigators traced Snapchat activity to Berkeley Township and Toms River, then recovered images from the attorney’s phones.
TOMS RIVER, NJ — Toms River attorney Robert Shea II was charged on Thursday with distributing and possessing lewd images of children after investigators searched his Berkeley Township residence and the Toms River office building of R.C. Shea and Associates, owned by his father, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced.
Police took Shea into custody at Berkeley Township Police Headquarters and transported him to the Ocean County Jail, where he remains pending a detention hearing. County officials said the hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
The charges follow an ongoing investigation into a Snapchat account used to exchange those photos.
Cyber-tip led investigators to home and office
The investigation began with a referral from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The task force received a cyber-tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children concerning someone sending and receiving child sexual abuse images through Snapchat.
Investigators from the prosecutor’s High Tech Crime Squad and Berkeley police traced associated IP addresses to the residence and office building. They identified Shea as the person who accessed and shared the images, Billhimer said.
Detectives executed a court-authorized search warrant at Shea’s home on October 22. An initial forensic examination of multiple phones belonging to him revealed numerous images of child sexual abuse material, prosecutors said.
A separate search at the Toms River office that day yielded another phone belonging to Shea. Investigators said it contained the Snapchat application used to distribute an image, along with the image itself.
Jackson mayor calls for Planning Board to terminate Shea immediately
The arrest prompted Jackson Mayor Jennifer Kuhn to call for Shea’s removal as Planning Board attorney and announced she was moving to end the township’s relationship with R.C. Shea & Associates.
“I am also moving to terminate the township’s relationship with Mr. Shea’s law firm effective immediately,” Kuhn said in her statement.
She separately called on the Planning Board to remove him.
“On a personal level, I’ve known Mr. Shea and his family for years and today’s allegations are a complete and utter shock to me,” she said.
Shea has held several legal assignments in Jackson, including municipal public defender, Planning Board attorney, Zoning Board conflict attorney, and special legal counsel.