1K Child Porn Images, Videos Found In Somerset Man's Home: U.S. Attorney

SOMERSET, NJ — More than 1,000 images and videos of child pornography were found inside a Somerset man's home, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced on Wednesday.

Elliott Souder, 51, of Somerset, was charged by complaint with receipt and possession of child pornography and appeared before Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh in Trenton federal court on May 6.

Souder was formerly employed as a creative writing professor at Rutgers New Brunswick, in the English department. He no longer works for Rutgers, said the university.

From at least Sept. 20, through Nov. 16, 2021, while on his home computer, Souder connected to an Internet-based peer-to-peer network and requested three videos depicting child sexual abuse, according to documents filed in this case and statements made in court.

When police executed a search warrant at Souder's Somerset home in March 2022, they found more than 1,000 images and videos of child pornography on his computer's hard drive, including two of the videos previously requested over the peer-to-peer network, according to authorities.

Some of the images and videos depicted prepubescent children, toddlers and infants, and sadomasochism on children, according to authorities.

Souder could face a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine on the charge of receipt of child pornography.

He also could face a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the charge of possession of child pornography.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit justice.gov/psc.

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