NJ middle school teacher accused of sharing child sex abuse images

A 31-year-old Matawan man, who has been a public school teacher in Ocean County, was accused of sharing and receiving child sexual abuse materials.

Christopher A. DeCesare has been charged with second-degree distribution of child sexual abuse materials, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced on Friday.

DeCesare was arrested on Aug. 29, following an investigation that was launched by a cybertip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

He had been sharing such files via social media to other users, as well as receiving it to a personal email account, Santiago said.

DeCesare was the music teacher and orchestra director at Toms River Intermediate South School.

He was no longer employed in the district and did not return to classes this school year, Toms River Schools Superintendent Michael Citta confirmed to New Jersey 101.5.

Before his arrest, DeCesare was with the school district for four years and graduated from Montclair State University in 2015, according to a Linkedin profile in his name.

Anyone with potential information on the case was asked to contact Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Anthony Lacher at 800-533-7443.