A Princeton Borough man has been arrested following an investigation into the possession and distribution of online child exploitation.
Oliver Diaz Pulex, 24, was charged with one count of second-degree distribution of child sexual abuse material and one count of third-degree possession of child sexual abuse material, said Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta Marbrey.
Authorities said that Pulex knowingly distributed an item depicting or portraying a child in a sexually explicit manner while utilizing the internet or social media applications.
Detectives with the prosecutor’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual in Mercer County had uploaded a file of suspected child sexual abuse material to the internet. An investigation was initiated and Pulex was identified as a subject.
On Friday, Feb. 21, members of the prosecutor’s ICAC Unit, with assistance from the Special Victims Unit, the Economic Crime Unit, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Mercer County Tactical Response Team, executed a search warrant at Pulex’s Princeton residence on Witherspoon Street, where detectives seized multiple items of evidentiary value.
Pulex was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Mercer County Correction Center. A judge subsequently ordered him released pending future court appearances on Feb. 22.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit at (609) 989-6568 or mcposvu@mercercounty.org.
Prosecutor Marbrey urges anyone with information about suspected improper contact by unknown persons communicating with children via the internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children to please contact her Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit at (609) 989-6568 or the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force tip line at (888) 648-6007.
