NJ Child Welfare Case Manager Sentenced For Sex Images Of Toddlers: Prosecutors

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — A former child welfare worker in North Jersey has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for possession of child sex abuse materials, including videos of toddlers, officials said Thursday.

Trent Collier, 58, of Kearny — a former case manager with the Division of Child Protection and Permanency — had pleaded guilty to one count of possession and one count of transporting child sexual abuse material, said the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark.

Officials said that on Sept, 28, 2021, Collier arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport rom the Dominican Republic. When he arrived, law enforcement searched his cell phone and identified at least two images of child pornography.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Collier admitted that he had previously sent child pornography to at least one other person using his cell phone, and that someone sent the same to his cell phone.

But a further search of Collier’s cell phone uncovered "multiple additional videos of child pornography, including videos depicting the sexual exploitation of toddlers," prosecutors say.

In addition to the 109-month prison term, Judge Brian Martinotti sentenced Collier to five years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.