New Jersey man indicted on child pornography charges

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey man has been charged with distribution and possession of child pornography, including images of very young children participating in sexually explicit conduct with adults, as outlined in an indictment by the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Paul J. Fishman. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Berkeley Township Police Department.

Dwayne Tucker, 26, of Bayville, N.J., is charged with 28 counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Tucker was previously charged in a criminal complaint with possession of child pornography in December 2010. He has been in custody since his arrest on that charge. The defendant will be arraigned on the new charges in Trenton federal court on a date to be determined.

Court documents from the HSI investigation revealed that from June through November 2010, Tucker sent hundreds of images and videos of child pornography to various online contacts by email and through links during online chats.

Additionally, Tucker shared his child pornography collection with others on a peer-to-peer network, an Internet-based file sharing program.

A thumb drive found in a jacket pocket during a law enforcement search of Tucker's bedroom contained images of prepubescent children performing sex acts on adults.

Tucker faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the 28 distribution of child pornography charges. The possession of child pornography charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. Each charge also carries a $250,000 maximum fine.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.