John Kisch (Photo: Ocean County Jail)
A 57-year-old man who served as a Class I special police officer with the Brick police department has been arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
The arrest of John Kisch, 57, of Brick Township, occurred Tuesday. Kisch served as a Class I special officer in Brick, a class of officers who normally work part-time and do not carry weapons or have the same level of police powers as sworn officers. Township officials said Kisch was “immediately terminated” once the charges came to light.
“Upon being notified of the charges against John Kisch yesterday, we immediately terminated his part-time employment with the Township of Brick,” said Brick Township Business Administrator Joanne Bergin. “These crimes are among the most reprehensible someone can commit, as they affect innocent and vulnerable children.”
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Bergin continued: “We have – and will – continue to hold Brick Township employees to the highest standards. If convicted of these charges, the Township fully supports prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”
According to prosecutors, the investigation was the result of a referral from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The task force received cyber-tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual was uploading images of child pornography to the internet based locally.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit identified an IP address associated with a Brick Township residence as the location where the individual was uploading the images of child pornography; that individual was ultimately identified as Kisch.
On Tuesday, detectives from the state and county investigators, as well as federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations, executed a court-authorized search warrant on Kisch’s residence in Brick Township. As a result, detectives seized a desktop computer. A forensic examination of the computer by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit led to the discovery of more than 100 images of child pornography on the computer, prosecutors allege.
Kisch was taken into custody at the residence. He was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is lodged pending a detention hearing.
“Kisch is alleged to have possessed images of child pornography; every image is a risk to further victimize those being depicted,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel, in a statement. “HSI special agents and our partners with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey State Police will continue to bring to justice those that are engaged in any activity involving the exploitation of our innocent children.”
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer commended the agencies involved in the investigation.
“We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the most vulnerable among us,” he said. “Children are most deserving of our unwavering commitment to investigating and prosecuting these types of offenses.”
The agencies involved included:
- Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit
- United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations Newark
- New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force
- National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
