By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Ocean County announced that on July 2, 2024, Robert Lasher, 71, of Brick Township, was charged with Possessing Explicit Images Involving Minors.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said the investigation leading to this charge was the result of a referral from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
The ICAC Task Force received cyber-tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual was uploading Explicit Images Involving Minors to the internet, officials stated.
According to officials, 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 an individual was uploading Explicit Images Involving Minors.
That individual was ultimately identified as Lasher, authorities say.
Officials said that on July 2, Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, the United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and the Brick Township Police Department executed a court-authorized search warrant on Lasher’s residence.
An initial forensic examination of Lasher’s electronic devices led to the discovery of several items of Explicit Images Involving Minors, officials say.
Lasher was taken into custody at his residence and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is presently lodged pending a detention hearing, officials stated.