Toms River man pleads guilty to distributing child sexual abuse material
Justin Thomas, 40, entered the guilty plea on April 13 in Superior Court, according to Ocean County authorities.
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A Toms River man pleaded guilty to distributing child sexual abuse material, Ocean County prosecutors said Monday.
Justin Thomas, 40, entered the guilty plea on April 13 in Superior Court, according to Ocean County authorities. Prosecutors said they will seek a five-year state prison term when Thomas is sentenced. His sentencing date has not yet been set.
The investigation began after police received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that someone was uploading child sexual abuse material to the internet, prosecutors said.
Investigators traced the activity to an IP address linked to a Toms River home and identified Thomas as the suspect, according to prosecutors.
On July 31, 2025, detectives executed a search warrant at Thomas’ residence. Prosecutors said an initial forensic examination of a USB drive recovered from his desk uncovered several files containing child sexual abuse material, and investigators later determined Thomas had been distributing the material on Snapchat.
Thomas was taken into custody at Toms River Township Police headquarters before being released under New Jersey’s bail reform law, prosecutors said.
