Man Received, Sent Child Porn From Berkeley Home: Prosecutor

BERKELEY, NJ — A Berkeley resident is accused of sending and receiving images and videos of child sexual abuse, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Mario Calabrese, 26, was charged with possession of child pornography and two counts of distribution of child pornography on Feb. 13, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Investigation into Calabrese started when local authorities got a referral from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The ICAC Task Force received a cyber-tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual was sending/receiving images of child pornography from the internet.

Authorities identified an IP address coming from a Berkeley home that was being used to send and receive the photos and videos. These were being sent through a Kik Messenger account, Billhimer said.

Investigators found images and videos of child pornography that were uploaded and sent via Kik by Calabrese, Billhimer said.

A court-authorized search warrant was executed on Calabrese's home on Feb. 13, Billhimer said, and the Kik Messenger app was discovered on Calabrese's electronic equipment.

Calabrese was taken to Ocean County Jail, where he remains pending a detention hearing.