Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Evesham Township Acting Police Chief Walter Miller announced that a 53-year-old Marlton man has been charged with possessing Abuse Material depicting underage minors (CSAM). Kevin Gaffney, of the first block of Marlborough Avenue, was arrested yesterday and charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Minor (Third Degree).
He was lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly pending a first appearance today in Superior Court. Gaffney was taken into custody at his residence following the execution of a search warrant.
Multiple electronic devices were seized and will be examined by members of the BCPO High Tech Crimes Unit. An external hard drive belonging to the defendant was reviewed onsite and found to contain a large quantity of CSAM files. The investigation began after the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit received information regarding Gaffney’s online activities from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The investigation revealed that in addition to keeping Sexual Abuse Material depicting minors on the external drive, Gaffney also used an online data storage system to maintain CSAM files. The investigation was conducted by the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit and the Evesham Township Police (NJ) Department, with assistance from United States Homeland Security Investigations – Cherry Hill Office, and the New Jersey State Police. The lead investigator was Evesham Township Detective Christopher DeFrancesco, who is assigned to the High-Tech Crimes Unit as a Task Force Officer.
Gaffney will be prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Weiler.
The case will be presented to a grand jury for possible indictment. The BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit and HSI – Cherry Hill are members of the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force NJ ICAC Task Force. The BCPO also belongs to the New Jersey State Police Cyber Terrorism Task Force.
All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.