COURT HOUSE – Police arrested a Middle Township resident on Friday, April 26, and charged him with manufacturing and distributing child pornography.
Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland and Middle Township Police Chief Jennifer Pooler issued a joint press release announcing the arrest of Xavier Figueroa Jr., 20, of Shunpike Road.
The investigation stemmed from a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTip that revealed that an unidentified person, who was subsequently identified as Figueroa, shared one or more videos of child sexual abuse material via X, formerly Twitter.
On Wednesday, April 24, a search and seizure warrant was served at Figueroa’s residence by members of a multijurisdictional task force, including the Middle Township Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit.
Following the execution of the warrant and an extensive follow-up investigation, it was determined that Figueroa manufactured, distributed and possessed child sexual abuse material.
He was charged with second-degree manufacturing child pornography, second-degree distributing child pornography and third-degree possession of child pornography. He was lodged in the Cape May County Correctional Facility pending court proceedings.
An individual charged with a second-degree crime is subject to a prison term of five to 10 years. An individual charged with a third-degree crime is subject to a prison term of three to five years.
The investigation was part of the ongoing work of the county Prosecutor’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The prosecutor urges citizens to report any information regarding child exploitation or any criminal activity to the Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135, anonymously on the Prosecutor’s Office website at cmcpo.tips, or by contacting Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-889-3597.
