LOWER TOWNSHIP — Villas resident Thomas J. Crandley, 50, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and manufacturing and possession of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM).
Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Chief Donald Vanaman of the Lower Township Police Department announced Crandley’s arrest Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Authorities reported the investigation stemmed from two National Center for Missing and Exploited Children cyber-tips that revealed an unidentified subject, allegedly identified as Crandley, uploaded various images of CSAM.
On Oct. 13, as a result of the investigation, members of the Cape May County Regional SWAT Team conducted a motor vehicle stop and took Crandley into custody in Lower Township.
Court-authorized search warrants were subsequently executed at Crandley’s residence by the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office High Technology Crimes Unit and ICAC Task Force, the Cape May County Regional SWAT Team, the Lower Township Police Department, the Cape May Police Department, the Wildwood Crest Police Department and the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations — Atlantic City.
Crandley was charged at the conclusion of the investigation.
Endangering the welfare of a child (manufacturing of child pornography) is a crime of the second-degree. Endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child pornography), is a crime of the third-degree.
Crandley was lodged in the Cape May County Jail pending court proceedings.
Individuals charged with a second-degree crime are subject to a term of imprisonment of 5 to 10 years in state prison and with a third-degree crime a term of 3 to 5 years in prison.
Sutherland urged county residents to report information regarding child exploitation or any criminal activity within the community to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at (609) 465-1135, or anonymously on the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office website at cmcpo.tips.