Essex County man charged with distributing and possessing child pornography

NEWARK, NJ — An Essex County man was indicted Nov. 20 on a charge of distributing and possessing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Keith Voolgaris, 62, of Newark, is charged by indictment with one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. Voolgaris was initially charged by complaint in September 2019.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, between July 21, 2017, and Sept. 8, 2017, Voolgaris distributed and possessed at least 50 videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors, including prepubescent children. He used a “chat” website to send numerous messages to another child pornography distributor in Minnesota. Many of those messages contained links to Dropbox files that were found to contain images of child sexual abuse. A subsequent search of Voolgaris’ email accounts revealed numerous additional videos and images of child sexual abuse.

Voolgaris has prior convictions for receiving or distributing child pornography and for possession of child pornography. Accordingly, the charge of distribution of child pornography by a repeat offender carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of possession of child pornography depicting prepubescent children by a repeat offender carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charge and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

  U.S. Attorney’s Office