A Passaic County man has been charged after allegedly sending sexually explicit material to an undercover detective on social media, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday.
Joseph Velazquez, 25, of Passaic, is charged with second- and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly possessing and distributing child pornography, authorities said.
In February, authorities opened an investigation into Velazquez after a detective monitoring a group chat on the social media app Kik, was contacted by him under the alias blazeitupp1, the prosecutor’s office said.
Velazquez sent sexually explicit material to the detective and expressed interest in having sexual relations with the child, according to officials. Investigators from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office searched Velazquez’s home in Passaic and found the sexually explicit material, the office said.
He was arrested and transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution pending a detention hearing scheduled for June 24, authorities said.
Anyone with information about is being asked to contact Detective Anthony Lacher at 800-533-7443.
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Deion Johnson may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Instagram at @DeionRJohnson or X @DeionRJohhnson.
