A private music instructor at a studio in West Windsor has been charged with allegedly “viewing and sharing child pornography,” according to Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri.
Jose Sanchez, 58, of Monroe Township, Middlesex County, is charged with third-degree possession of child pornography and second-degree file sharing of child pornography, according to a press release through the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office on Oct. 11.
The prosecutor’s office has filed a motion to detain Sanchez pending trial.
In September, detectives with the prosecutor’s Internet Crimes Against Children
(ICAC) Unit received information from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office that an
individual in Mercer County was uploading child pornography. An investigation was
initiated and on Oct. 7, detectives with ICAC executed a search warrant at a
residence in West Windsor, according to the press release.
It was determined that Sanchez, a music instructor who provides lessons to children from a private studio in West Windsor, was allegedly viewing and sharing child pornography. Sanchez was apprehended without incident and his electronic devices were seized for forensic examination, according to the press release.
Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of
up to $150,000. Third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison
and a fine of up to $15,000, according to the press release.
Onofri is urging anyone with information about suspected improper contact by unknown persons communicating with children via the internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children to contact the office’s ICAC Unit at 609-989-6568 or the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force tip line at 888-648-6007.