Passaic man sent child abuse files to undercover Monmouth detective, prosecutor says
FREEHOLD - A Passaic man has been criminally charged with offenses involving child sexual abuse materials after interacting with an undercover detective online, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Friday.
Joseph S. Velazquez, 25, is charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child (distribution of child sexual abuse materials) and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials), Santiago said.
An investigation began in February by a prosecutor’s office detective acting in undercover on a chat group of Kik, a social media network, Santiago said. While monitoring the chat group, the detective was contacted by another user — going by the alias “blazeitupp1” and later identified as Velazquez — who electronically sent files containing child sexual abuse materials and also repeatedly expressed interest in having a sexual encounter with a fictitious child.
Last week, a search warrant was executed at Velazquez’s home in Passaic, and the materials were found, leading to the charges against him, according to the prosecutor. Velazquez was arrested without incident and taken to the Monmouth County jail pending a detention hearing, tentatively scheduled for Monday, June 24, in Monmouth County Superior Court.
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Santiago is urging anyone with additional information about Velazquez’s activities to contact MCPO Detective Anthony Lacher at 800-533-7443.
Jenna Calderón covers breaking news and cold cases in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Before coming to the Press, she covered The Queen City for Cincinnati Magazine in Ohio. Contact her at 330-590-3903; jcalderon@gannettnj.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Passaic man accused of sending undercover detective child sex content
