Christian Kohl (Photo: Ocean County Jail)
A Brick Township man has been charged with possession of child pornography, attempted endangering the welfare of a child and attempting to provide obscene materials to a child after his IP address was flagged by a task force and he allegedly engaged in sex-fueled conversations with an undercover agent.
Christian Kohl, 46, of Brick, is being held in the Ocean County Jail after being arrested Thursday.
According to a statement from prosecutors, the investigation was the result of a referral from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. 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 from which the individual was accessing images of child pornography from the internet, authorities said.
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During the months of May 2024 through August 2024, a detective was conducting an undercover chat investigation on the Kik messenger service. During the course of the investigation, the detective – posing as a 14 year-old girl – “engaged in conversations with a user who identified himself as a 38 year-old male.” During these conversations, the user sent “numerous inappropriate nude photos and videos of himself to the detective, although the detective advised the user that ‘she’ was only 14 years-old on multiple occasions,” the statement said.
The user was ultimately identified as Kohl, authorities allege.
On Thursday, detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, and Brick Township Police Department, executed a court-authorized search warrant on Kohl’s residence in Brick Township. An initial forensic examination of Kohl’s cell phone by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit led to the discovery of several items of child pornography, according to the statement.
Kohl was taken into custody at his residence without incident. He was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is presently lodged pending a detention hearing.
