By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Ocean County announced that on August 24, 2023, Edward Lynch, 52, of Toms River, was charged with being in possession of explicit images of children.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer reported that this investigation was the result of a referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
According to officials, NCMEC received cyber-tips that an individual was downloading explicit images of children from the internet.
Authorities say an investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit identified an IP address associated with a residence in Toms River as the location from which the individual was downloading these images.
On August 24, Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, the Toms River Township Police, and the Toms River Township Police Department Emergency Services Unit executed a court-authorized search warrant on the subject residence, officials said.
As a result, Detectives seized multiple electronic devices from the residence.
According to officials, a forensic examination of the devices led to the discovery of more than 1,000 images of explicit images of children.
Further investigation, officials say, revealed that Lynch was the individual responsible for downloading the explicit images of minors in question.
Lynch was taken into custody at his residence without incident; he was then transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is presently lodged pending a detention hearing.