Union County Man Charged With Possession And Distribution Of Child Porn

A Rahway man has been arrested and charged with being in possession of hundreds of computer files depicting children engaged in sexual activity, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Friday.

Ian Steingraber, 22, of Maple Avenue is charged with second-degree distribution and fourth-degree possession of child pornography. Bail was set at $75,000 by state Superior Court Judge Regina Caulfield.

A three-month investigation by the High Tech section of the prosecutor’s office’s Special Prosecutions Unit was launched following a referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

The investigation led to the identification of Steingraber as a suspect, and an execution of a Superior Court search warrant early Friday morning led to his arrest and the recovery of the computer files, along with the determination that Steingraber allegedly shared some of those files with others online. 

The arrest is the first of its kind to take place in the county since a partnership between the prosecutor’s office and the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was established earlier this year, providing local investigators with additional tools and enhanced strategies to combat the possession, distribution, and/or production of child pornography.

“This new partnership marks a strong first step toward making investigations into crimes such as these a top priority for our office,” Park said. “Few criminal offenses are as morally abhorrent, and we in law enforcement have to do everything in our power to ensure that such conduct is eradicated from our communities.” 

Steingraber was lodged in Union County Jail, and his first court appearance is expected to take place sometime next week. Second-degree crimes typically carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison.

These criminal charges are mere accusations. Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.