An astronomy and physics teacher at a public high school in Essex County has been arrested and charged with being in possession of digital files depicting the sexual exploitation of children, acting Union County Prosecutor Jennifer Davenport announced Thursday.
Officials say, Mr. Michael A. Morrill, 55, is charged with third-degree possession of Explicit Images of Minors.
An investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) subdivision of the Prosecutor’s Office’s Cyber Crime Task Force initiated earlier this year resulted in Morrill being identified as a suspect, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Derek Nececkas, who is prosecuting the case according to officials.
Last week, Prosecutor’s Office Detectives executing a search warrant at Morrill’s home on the 1800 block of Manor Drive in Union Township recovered the aforementioned digital files on a laptop found there, Nececkas said.
Also seized during the execution of the search warrant were two dozen other electronic devices, including a tablet, desktop computers, laptops, and removable hard drives and other storage devices, all of which will be forensically examined as part of the continuing investigation.
Morrill has been employed by Columbia High School in Maplewood, for nearly 25 years. The school has been notified of the arrest and charges.
A first appearance in the case has been scheduled to take place on the morning of Wednesday, June 19 in the second-floor courtroom of Union County Jail in Elizabeth.
Anyone with information about Morrill’s activities is being urged to contact the Cyber Crime Task Force at 908-527-4500.
Convictions on charges of this nature are commonly punishable by 3 to 5 years in state prison.
These criminal charges are mere accusations. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.