Five Inmates Arrested At Federal Correctional Institution – Fort Dix For Distributing Images Of Child Sexual Abuse

CAMDEN, N.J. – Five men imprisoned on child pornography charges were arrested today at the Federal Correctional Institution-Fort Dix and charged with new counts of distributing images and videos of child sexual abuse within the prison, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

The inmates were charged with using contraband cellphones and micro SD cards to distribute the images, as well as selling and possessing with intent to sell the images and videos on federal property and conspiracy to commit these offenses. They are scheduled to appear later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court.

“These five defendants, each having been previously convicted and imprisoned for trafficking in child pornography, have allegedly continued while in prison to trade and profit from the exploitation and sexual abuse of innocent children,” Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick said. “The federal law enforcement community is committed to protecting our nation’s children by exhaustively investigating and aggressively prosecuting those who seek to do them harm.”

“Anyone who sexually exploits children, whether incarcerated or not, will be relentlessly pursued and brought to stand trial for their heinous crimes,” stated Timothy Gallagher, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Newark Field Office. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are resolute in this commitment and remain ever vigilant in protecting one of society’s most vulnerable members, our children.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Anthony C. Jeffries, 31, of Orange, Virginia, is serving a 168-month sentence, with a scheduled release date of Aug. 13, 2022, following his guilty plea in the Western District of Virginia to three counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He is allegedly a leader of the Fort Dix child pornography network, and maintained a “cloud” account containing images and videos of child sexual abuse. Jeffries allegedly transferred a micro SD card containing images of child sexual abuse to a government informant at Fort Dix on Nov. 1, 2016. The micro SD card included videos involving prepubescent children, including infants and toddlers and depictions of child sexual abuse.

Brian J. McKay, 46, of Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, is serving a 180-month sentence, with a scheduled release date of June 28, 2021, following his guilty plea in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. McKay is charged with allegedly transferring micro SD cards containing images of child sexual abuse to a government informant at Fort Dix on Nov. 1, 2016, and on Feb. 15, 2017, on behalf of other inmates (conspirators Allen and Roffler, below). The first micro SD card included child sexual abuse videos involving prepubescent children as well as bestiality. The second micro SD card included hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse.

Jordan T. Allen, 30, of Plain City, Ohio, is serving a 102-month sentence, with a scheduled release date of Dec. 30, 2018, following his guilty plea in the Southern District of Ohio to one count of receipt of child pornography. He is charged with receiving payment from a government informant at Fort Dix on Feb. 15, 2017, in exchange for the micro SD card that McKay transferred to the informant on that date. Allen told the informant that he utilized The Onion Router (also known by its acronym, “TOR”) to access images of child sexual abuse.

Christopher D. Roffler, 29, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, is serving a 100-month sentence, with a scheduled release date of Aug. 22, 2019, following his guilty plea in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of transportation of child pornography. He is charged with receiving payment from a government informant at Fort Dix on Nov. 1, 2016, in exchange for the micro SD card that McKay transferred to the informant on that date.

Erik M. Smith, 35, of Iron Mountain, Michigan, is serving a 235-month sentence, with a scheduled release date of March 26, 2027, following his guilty plea in the Western District of Michigan to one count of receipt of child pornography. He is charged with distribution of images of child sexual abuse and selling and possessing with intent to sell images of child sexual abuse on federal property. Smith allegedly sold a micro SD card containing images of child sexual abuse to a government informant at Fort Dix on Feb. 15, 2017. Smith stated that he had sufficient postage stamps – a form of illicit currency among inmates – in order to obtain a cellphone to access the cloud account.

The counts of distributing child pornography, selling and possessing with intent to sell child pornography, and conspiracy to commit these offenses – due to the prior convictions of each of the defendants – carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s arrests. He also thanked officials of the Bureau of Prisons and FCI-Fort Dix for their assistance with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin C. Danilewitz and Gabriel Vidoni of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.

The charges and allegations in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.