A nursery school teacher was arrested at his Red Bank home on federal child pornography charges early Tuesday.
James Paroline, 26, was taken into custody during a raid that brought dozens of FBI agents to his Pearl Street apartment at about 6 a.m., according to a witness who asked not to be identified.
Federal agents took Paroline to Trenton, where he was charged with receiving images of child sexual abuse on his home computer, according to a prepared statement by United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
The statement said Paroline is employed as an assistant at a nursery school and as a summer camp counselor at a private school, both located in Monmouth County. Neither school was identified.
A complaint filed by the FBI says that over a two-week period beginning February 20, authorities obtained the Internet Protocol addresses of computers accessing an unidentified website that distributes child pornography and provides discussion forums on the topic.
On three dates in that period, a user identified as “jimbobtropolis” accessed and downloaded child porn on the website, according to the complaint. The downloads included video of girls who appeared to be as young as three years old being sexually abused, the FBI said.
The complaint said the FBI tracked the user name and IP address to Paroline’s home. After the execution of a search warrant Tuesday morning, Paroline admitted that he had downloaded the images and that the hard drive on which they were found was his, the complaint alleges.
Paroline also told the agents that “he has inappropriately touched minor children” while employed as a teacher and camp counselor, according to the complaint.
The immediate charges, however, were limited to receiving porn, and Paroline was ordered held pending a bail hearing scheduled for Thursday, according to Fishman’s statement.
The name of Paroline’s attorney, if any, could not be immediately learned by redbankgreen.
Red Bank police assisted in the execution of the search warrant, said Chief Darren McConnell.
