New Jersey sees 74% increase in child pornography arrests since 2020

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The number of people charged with possession of child pornography is rising in New Jersey.

During a news conference Thursday afternoon, Attorney General Matt Platkin, the chief law enforcement agent in the Garden State, said over the past several years there has been an uptick in reports of the number of tips about suspected predatory activity online, which has led to more investigations by New Jersey State Police’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, known as ICAC.

“As a result of these efforts, the number of defendants charged and prosecuted in these cases has significantly increased,” Platkin said.

In 2020, the state’s Division of Criminal Justice charged 232 defendants with child sexual abuse offenses. Last year, 404 suspects were arrested and charged, a 74% increase. A spokesman for the attorney general’s office said that 104 individuals have been arrested and charged with related crimes so far in 2025.

A record number of tips

Lt. Col. Phil Buck said last year, the ICAC received more tips about suspects than ever before.

“Over 20,000, a total of 20,578, we’re expecting more tips to come in this year, and more arrests and prosecutions as a result,” he said.

Why are cases rising?

When Platkin was asked if the number of arrests is increasing because more people are engaging in child pornography activity, or because more resources are being used to catch them, he said child sexual abuse and exploitation of children is unfortunately not new.

“But what has worked is increasing awareness, encouraging reporting and then when those reports come in, having the people in place, the law enforcement officers and the prosecutors, to hold them accountable,” he said.

When pressed on whether there are more individuals possessing and distributing child pornography, he said technology has its benefits and its downside.

“One of the downsides of technology, and particularly with kids on technology and the proliferation of smartphones and apps, is people have tried to take advantage of our youngest residents, but the flip side of that is what we are doing is working.”

A warning to predators

Plakin said local, state and federal agencies are working together, and officials have increased the number of personnel at the Division of Criminal Justice.

“We’re sending a message, that if you harm our children, if you harm vulnerable people, if you seek to take advantage of them for profit and use them for sex, you’re going to be held accountable,” he said. “We’re going to catch you and we’re going to hold you accountable, that is our mission and we will be tireless in those efforts.”

He said staffing within DCJ’s cyber unit has increased by 13% since January, while the number of investigators working in the human trafficking unit is up by 33%.

What is the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force?

The ICAC Task Force was created to help state and local law enforcement agencies improve their investigative response to offenders who use the internet, online communication systems, or other computer technology to sexually exploit children.

The ICAC Task Force was originally called the High Technology Crimes and Investigative Support Unit, and when it was formed in 1997 it was made up of  New Jersey State Police investigators who had an aptitude for computers. The group was responsible for conducting investigations into all crimes that utilized computers, computer technology and telecommunications.

As internet usage in New Jersey began to increase, the High Technology Crimes and Investigative Support Unit received a corresponding increase in complaints. In 2004 it was renamed the Cyber-Crimes Unit and focused on investigating computer intrusions, viruses and fraud. The Unit was later renamed the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and now is focused on child exploitation cases on the internet.

Who do you contact if you suspect a child is being sexually exploited online?

If you want to report a child endangerment case and you believe the suspect or the victim lives in New Jersey, call the Computer Crimes Task Force Hotline at 1-888-648-6007.

To report an instance of child endangerment online, use the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline reporting system.

To contact an ICAC outside New Jersey, reach out to other contacts. The NCMEC is a clearinghouse of information received from various sources and distributed to law enforcement. New Jersey’s ICAC receives all cyber tips that are linked to New Jersey.

Keeping kids safe online

The NCMEC recommends the following internet safety tips for kids:

• Never share online any personal information, including address, telephone number, parents’ work address and phone number, or the name and location of your school without parental permission.
• Tell your parents or guardians immediately if you come across any information online that makes you feel uncomfortable.
• Never agree to get together with someone that you meet online without first checking with a parent or guardian. If a parent or guardian agrees to the meeting, make sure it is in a public place and bring your parent or guardian along.
• Never send someone your picture or anything else without first checking with your parents or guardians.
• Do not respond to any online messages that are mean or make you feel uncomfortable, and share this information with your parents or guardians immediately so that they can contact the online service.
• Sit down with your parents or guardians and set up rules for going online, and never go to websites that are not approved by them.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect updated 2025 arrest figures provided to WHYY after publication.