Jersey City Man Charged with Possession of Child Pornography

NEWARK, N.J. – A Jersey City, New Jersey man was charged today with possession of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

Matthew Ozol, 39, of Jersey City, New Jersey is charged with one count of possession of child pornography.  Ozol made his initial before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark, III in Newark federal court and was detained.

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

Law enforcement reviewed messages sent via a messaging application from an account associated with an IP address registered in Ozol’s name at Ozol’s residence.  The account participated in a chat group named “Baby Rapist,” and sent multiple communications referencing, among other things, a desire to rape babies and exchange child pornography, and distributed a video containing child pornography.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Ozol’s residence, and recovered at least 26 images and/or videos of child pornography depicting infants or toddlers.

The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Acting U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy, with the investigation leading to the charge.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Specht of the Special Prosecutions Division.

                                                                       ###

Defense Counsel:

Robert Ebberup, Esq., Toms River, New Jersey