MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — A 38-year-old man has been charged with multiple counts related to child sexual abuse material.
Phillip Ommundsen, of Manchester Township, was charged on Oct. 21 with three counts of distribution of child sexual abuse material and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
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 that an individual was sending and receiving images of child pornography from the internet.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Squad identified an IP address associated with a Manchester Township residence as the location from which the individual was sending and receiving the images using a Kik Messenger account.
Detectives located images and videos of child sexual abuse material that had been uploaded and sent by Ommundsen via Kik, according to the prosecutor’s office.
During the investigation, authorities determined that Ommundsen had been arrested in Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania, on an unrelated charge and was incarcerated in Pennsylvania.
Ommundsen’s cellular phone was being held in evidence by the Reynoldsville Police Department.
Detectives executed a court-authorized search warrant to retrieve and examine the phone.
A forensic examination of the device revealed images of child sexual abuse material and two Kik Messenger accounts belonging to Ommundsen.
Ommundsen will be served with the charges by warrant at the Jefferson County Jail in Pennsylvania by detectives from the United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations.
