By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Atlantic County announced that on Wednesday, February 28, Roger B. Tees, 74, of Somers Point, pleaded guilty to Endangering the Welfare of Children (Distribution of Explicit Images of Minors) in front of Honorable Judge Pamela D’Arcy, J.S.C.
Officials stated the State will recommend a four (4) year state prison term at the time of sentencing.
Upon his release from state prison, officials say, Mr. Tees will be placed on Parole Supervision for Life and be required to register as an offender under Megan’s Law.
According to officials, the investigation began when Tees used his Yahoo account to save Explicit Images of Minors (CSAM) to his cloud account.
Upon scanning the content for CSAM, Yahoo reported the upload of suspected CSAM to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), ultimately prompting a law enforcement investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit that revealed that Tees was sharing Explicit Images of Minors (CSAM) on Telegram, a popular instant message and file sharing application, and saving the material to his Yahoo account, officials said.
Officials say following a search warrant on his residence, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit, assisted by Homeland Security Investigations-Atlantic City and the Somers Point Police Department, uncovered numerous videos and photographs depicting children engaged in prohibited explicit acts on Tees’ digital devices.
The investigation did not reveal any evidence that Tees engaged in prohibited conduct while working in an official capacity as the Director of Emergency Management for Somers Point, nor while working in any role as a public servant, according to officials.
Authorities say sentencing is tentatively scheduled for May 9, 2024.