Donald Haring came to the attention of federal investigators in June 2014 when an undercover agent downloaded files from his computer, authorities said.
LONG BRANCH -- A 60-year-old Long Branch man was charged Wednesday with possessing and distributing child pornography.
Donald Haring was arrested Wednesday after he was indicted on charges of sharing about 133 images of child sex abuse between June and October last year, said U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.
Haring came to the attention of federal investigators in June 2014 when an undercover agent downloaded files from Haring's computer through a peer-to-peer file-sharing network, Fishman said in a release from his office. Court documents said Haring used the name T._Young@ARES for that account.
Four months later, on Oct. 19, Haring joined an online child pornography forum that actually was operated by undercover agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the release said. Under the "terms of admission" for the forum, prospective members are required to, among other things, upload images of child sexual assault, the release said. Fishman said Haring uploaded eight images of child pornography. He went under the username PEACHPICKER and had the password 8tasty1 for that account, according to court documents.
During a search of Haring's Second Avenue home on December 12, Homeland Security agents found about 4,691 images and 75 videos of child sexual abuse on one of the devices they seized, the release said. They depicted prepubescent girls and infants being sexually abused, according to court documents.
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