Christopher Budelman of Brick Township was charged by Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer on September 27, 2022, with Possession of Child Pornography in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4b(5)(b)(iii) but now he has bigger problems.
The 36-year-old made an initial appearance on Monday in federal court, where he is facing two counts of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.
On September 27, 2022, Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, United States Department of Homeland Security-Investigations Unit, New Jersey State Police K-9 Unit, and Brick Township Police Department, executed a court-authorized search warrant on Budelman’s residence in Brick Township.
As a result, Detectives seized a desktop computer with a hard-drive containing images of child pornography.
Detectives subsequently learned that Budelman was out of the country; as such, he was charged on a warrant and his name was entered into the National Crime Information Center Database.
That investigation was the result of a referral from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The ICAC Task Force detected that an individual was uploading images of child pornography to the internet using the Kik Messenger App.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit identified a Kik Messenger user with a Verizon Wireless account as the individual uploading the images of child pornography; that individual was ultimately identified as Budelman.
On October 4, 2022, Budelman was taken into custody by officers from the United States Department of Homeland Security-Investigations Unit at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger subsequently charged Budelman with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.
He made his initial appearance Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Arpert by videoconference and was detained.
According to Sellinger, while communicating via an online video chat site in June 2022, Budelman enticed at least two minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct while he masturbated. Budelman recorded and saved those video chats on his computer.
From September 2021 to June 2022, Budelman used two Kik Messenger accounts to send images and videos containing child sexual abuse, including images and videos depicting prepubescent minors, to others.
The charges of sexual exploitation of children each carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
The charge of distribution of child exploitation material carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
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