By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Somerset County announced the arrest of Nicholas Cringoli, 52, of Raritan Borough.
Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald stated that as part of the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit were notified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) of an apparent upload of images of child exploitation or abuse of a child.
Officials say that an investigation was thereafter initiated by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit.
Prosecutor McDonald said that the investigation revealed that Nicholas Cringoli was suspected of possessing numerous explicit images of minors.
Mr. Cringoli is employed as a paraprofessional with the Franklin Township (Somerset County) school district, as well as a Middle School Wrestling Coach in Franklin Township.
According to Somerset County officials, on Tuesday, December 17, at approximately 6:15 a.m., Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office detectives, along with members of the Raritan Borough Police Department, executed a Superior Court-ordered search warrant at Cringoli’s residence.
As a result of the search, Cringoli’s electronic devices were seized for further computer forensic examination. An initial forensic examination of these devices revealed numerous images depicting explicit images of minors, County officials stated.
Somerset County authorities said that on Tuesday, December 17, Nicholas Cringoli was arrested and charged with 2nd-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child for the Possession of items depicting explicit images of minors.
Defendant Cringoli was lodged in the Somerset County Jail pending his court hearing, County officials say.
The investigation remains ongoing.