A Kearny man whose job is to protect children from irresponsible adults finds himself on the wrong side of the law after the United States Attorney’s Office says he was found with child porn on an electronic device recently at Newark Liberty International Airport
Trent Collier, 55, of Kearny, a caseworker for the New Jersey Department of Children and Family Services, is charged by complaint with one count of possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Rachel A. Honig said.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Sept. 28, 2021, Collier arrived at Newark Airport aboard a flight from the Dominican Republic. Law enforcement officials searched his luggage and say they located a tablet device and a cellular phone.
A forensic search of both devices identified at least two images of child sexual abuse depicting prepubescent children. Based on an analysis of the phone, Collier sent the images via WhatsApp message.
The maximum penalty if Collier is convicted is 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain to the defendant or twice the gross pecuniary loss to someone else, whichever is greatest.
He made his initial appearance by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre and was released on $50,000 unsecured bond.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.