A resident of Wesley Avenue in Ocean City was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Ocean City Police Chief Jay Prettyman said in a joint news release Friday.
Daniel C. Farrell, 61, was arrested and charged with the crimes on July 11. According to authorities, the investigation stemmed from a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (N.C.M.E.C.) cyber tip that revealed an unidentified subject, later identified as Farrell, possessed various images of child sexual abuse material via his cloud account, authorities said.
Authorities executed a search warrant on Farrell’s cellphone. The search warrant was executed by members of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit & Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI-Atlantic City), and the Ocean City Police Department.
Following the execution of the search warrant and as a result of the interviews conducted, it was learned that Farrell was using his cellphone to upload and view the materials, according to the news release.
He was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, a crime of the third-degree, and distribution of child pornography, a crime of the second-degree.
Farrell was processed and lodged in the Cape May County Correctional Facility, pending court proceedings.
If convicted, he could face three to five years in state prison on the third-degree crime and five to 10 years for the second-degree crime.
Sutherland urged Cape May County residents to report any information regarding child exploitation or any criminal activity within the community.
Information can be reported to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135, or anonymously on the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office website at cmcpo.tips as well as through the Cape May County Sheriff’s Tip Line at cmcsheriff.net by clicking on anonymous tip, or by contacting Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-889-3597.
