Toms River Man Gets Decade in Jail for Possession, Distribution of Child Pornography

Edward Lynch (Photo: Ocean County Jail)

A 53-year-old Toms River man has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison for utilizing a number of smartphone apps to download and distribute child pornography.

Edward Lynch, 53, of Toms River, was sentenced this week by Superior Court Judge David M. Fritch to the decade-long prison stint, during which he will not be eligible for parole, as well as the obligation to register as a sex offender after he is released. The sentence came after he pleaded guilty to distribution of child sexual abuse material.

The investigation that led to the charges was the result of a referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which received cyber-tips that an individual was downloading images of child sexual abuse material from the internet. Detectives with 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.

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On August 24, 2023, detectives from the prosecutor’s office and Toms River Police Department executed a court-authorized search warrant on the residence and seized multiple electronic devices from the residence. An initial forensic examination of the devices by the High Tech Crime Unit led to the discovery of more than 1,000 items of child sexual abuse material. Further investigation revealed that Lynch was the individual responsible for downloading the child sexual abuse material in question, prosecutors said. That same day, Lynch was charged with possession of child sexual abuse material and was taken into custody at his residence without incident. He was released the same day under New Jersey’s bail reform law.

A full forensic examination on all seized electronic devices revealed that Lynch “knowingly distributed more than 1,000 items of child sexual abuse material” by utilizing the mobile apps Telegram, Session, and Wickr Me. As a consequence, Lynch was additionally charged on April 21, 2024, with distribution of child sexual abuse material, along with a second count of possession of child sexual abuse material. Lynch again surrendered himself to Toms River Township Police Headquarters and was likewise released.