A Franklin man who was formerly a creative writing instructor at Rutgers University is free on $100,000 bail after he was charged in federal court with receipt and possession of child pornography.Elliott Souder, 51, was charged on April 30 and appeared before Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh in Trenton federal court on May 6.
According to an affidavit filed in court by the FBI, in the fall of 2021 Souder allegedly connected from his home computer to an internet peer-to-peer network and requested three videos depicting child sexual abuse.
Three years ago in March 2022, authorities executed at search warrant at Souder’s home and allegedly found approximately 1,100 images appearing to depict prepubescent child pornography; about 352 videos of prepubescent child pornography; about 15 images and three videos of sadomasochism on or with children and about nine images and five images of infant and toddler pornography.
Court papers do not say why there was a three-year gap between when the pornographic images allegedly were found and when the charges were brought against Souder.
New Brunswick attorney Steve D. Altman is representing Souder.
The charge of receipt of child pornography carries a minimum mandatory prison sentence of five years. The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.
The investigation was conducted under FBI’s Operation Restore Justice, a coordinated effort to identify, track and arrest child sex predators, a nationwide operation that resulted in 205 arrests.
Including Souder, there were five arrests made in New Jersey in Operation Restore Justice.
Email: mdeak@MyCentralJersey.com
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Former Rutgers professor charged with child pornography