Former teacher from Jersey City gets 105 months in child pornography case

NEWARK, N.J. — A former teacher from Jersey City has been sentenced to 105 months in federal prison for possessing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced Thursday.

Matthew Ozol, 41, previously pleaded guilty before Judge Evelyn Padin to one count of possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said. The charge was brought in an information.

In addition to the prison term, Padin sentenced Ozol to 10 years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $10,000 to a victim of his offense.

Law enforcement officers searched Ozol’s home under a search warrant in August 2025, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in court.

A review of his electronic devices found that since at least 2022, Ozol had used encrypted messaging apps to send and receive messages expressing a desire to sexually abuse children, prosecutors said. Investigators recovered more than 100 images and 75 videos of child sexual abuse material from the devices, including many depicting very young children.

Frazer credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy, with the investigation that led to the guilty plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O’Leary of the office’s Health Care Fraud and Opioids Enforcement Unit prosecuted the case. Ozol was represented by attorneys Eric R. Breslin and Sarah Fehn Stewart of Florham Park.

The case was brought under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Justice Department initiative launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program, led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, coordinates federal, state and local resources to find and prosecute people who exploit children and to identify and rescue victims.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said community groups and residents interested in prevention programs or related resources can contact the office at USANJ.CommunityOutreach@usdoj.gov.

This report is based on information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office press release