Ocean County, NJ, Man Gets 15 Years for Child Porn

An Ocean County man is headed to prison for a long time on child porn charges.

Christopher Budelman of Brick, NJ, Sentenced

37-year-old Christopher Budelman of Brick previously pleaded guilty to two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.

On Wednesday in Trenton federal court, he was sentenced to 180 months, or 15 years, behind bars and another decade of supervised release once he is freed.

READ MORE: South Jersey man sentenced for sexually assaulting 2 young kids

Online Exploitation of Minors Through Video Chats

Federal authorities say sometime around June 2022, while communicating on an online video chat site, Budelman enticed two minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct while he sexually pleasured himself. Budelman recorded and saved those video chats on his computer.

Additionally, from around September 2021 through June 2022, he used two Kik Messenger accounts to send images and videos containing child pornography, including images and videos depicting prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, to others.

Photo by Árpád Czapp on Unsplash

READ MORE: PA man wanted for sexually assaulting 12-year-old NJ girl

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.

U.S. Attorney Alina Habba thanked special Department of Homeland Security agents, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, New Jersey State Police, and the Brick Township Police Department for their work in this case.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Super Pitts of the Criminal Division in Trenton. Budelman was represented by John Bruno, Jr., Esq.

NJ arrests 31 accused child predators in "Operation 24/7"

A roundup of 31 men have been accused of sexually exploiting children online, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced on July 14 while detailing "Operation 24/7."

The suspects “possessed and or distributed videos and images of child sexual abuse, including in many cases videos of young children being raped by adults,” Grewal said.

Chat apps and gaming platforms remain favorite hunting grounds for child predators and even as the pandemic winds down, many children have continued to spend more time online.

State Police received 39% more tips in just the first 6 months of 2021 than they received in the entire year in 2019. The following are suspects charged in "Operation 24/7."

Gallery Credit: Dan Alexander/Erin Vogt

NJ 'perv' teachers, coaches busted in two-year span

There were a number of educators, coaches and private teachers facing criminal charges for sexual offenses around New Jersey, arrested between 2022 and 2023.

Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt

Christopher Budelman of Brick, NJ, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for child porn crimes involving minors, chat apps, and video recordings.