NJ Man Charged In 3-Year-Old’s Sex Assault: AG

WARREN COUNTY - A Warren County man was charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting a three-year-old and sharing a recording of the assault on the internet, state authorities said.

Jabari Amador, 22, of Phillipsburg, was charged with first degree endangering the welfare of children for manufacturing child sexual abuse and exploitation material (CSAEM) and second-degree sexual assault, as well as related offenses, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and New Jersey State Police Superintendent Colonel Patrick J. Callahan said.

The charges stem from an investigation launched by the NJSP Internet Crimes Against Children Unit (ICACU) after police in Colorado reported finding images and videos of the child during the arrest of a man charged with possession of child sexual abuse material.

“People who manufacture and traffic in child sexual abuse materials inflict unimaginable harm on victims who often suffer from it throughout their entire lives,” Attorney General Platkin said in a statement. “We will do everything we can to stop adults who abuse, exploit and hurt children and hold them accountable for their crimes.”

On Jan. 12, 2023, ICACU detectives were contacted by the Boulder Colorado District Attorney's Office regarding the child sexual abuse material, as Boulder detectives determined that the material was sent from an individual in New Jersey, Platkin and Callahan said.

An ICACU investigation later identified Amador as a suspect in the child sexual abuse material investigation; later that day, ICACU detectives, along with members of the NJSP TEAMS Unit, Crime Scene Investigations North Unit, the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, and Phillipsburg Police Department, with aid from the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Cyber Crimes Bureau, executed a search warrant at Amador's home in Phillipsburg.

During the search, detectives seized numerous devices from the home, and later determined that Amador produced and distributed the child sexual abuse material. He's currently being held in the Warren County Jail pending trial.

“Our law enforcement partnerships extend well beyond state lines, and I applaud the efforts of the State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and the Boulder Colorado District Attorney’s Office for their collaborative efforts in bringing Amador to justice for his sadistic actions,”Callahan said in a statement. “We remain committed to targeting these offenders to preserve the innocence of the most vulnerable victims.”

The first-degree charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $200,000, the state office said, while second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.

The New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice is prosecuting the case.