A 41-year-old former aide to former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) is accused of paying to engage in a sex act with a little girl.
Officials have been investigating Kevin Tomafsky since late 2022, the New Jersey Globe reported Saturday.
The investigation was opened once “Snapchat reported the uploading of an incident of alleged child sexual to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which was then sent to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s office,” the outlet said.
A photo shows what appears to be the suspect’s mugshot and another image of him with Christie:
According to sources, another man also charged along with the suspect was the six-year-old victim’s father.
Tomafsky was arrested on August 15 and is being held at the Salem County Correctional Facility in Mannington Township, New Jersey:
He started his job with Christie’s office in June 2010 and worked there until 2012. He stepped down from his current state government job on Saturday, the Globe report said.
The outlet detailed the case:
According to court records obtained by the New Jersey Globe, Tomafsky was identified as the original recipient of a photo of a young female engaged in oral sex with an adult after the Gloucester prosecutor’s office reviewed records supplied by Snapchat as the result of a warrant.
Several days later, a Superior Court judge authorized a search warrant of the home Tomafsky shares with his mother. The search was conducted on December 14, 2022, and an examination of devices belonging to him revealed his possession of less than 1,000 items of child sexual abuse materials.
Meanwhile, the other person connected to the case faces charges that include knowingly committing the act of sexual penetration on the child and photographing a child engaging in a sexual act.
The charges against Tomafsky include engaging in sexual conduct with a child, conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child, permitting a child to engage in pornography, and possession of child pornography.
The United States Department of Justice defines child pornography as “a form of child sexual exploitation.”
“The production of child pornography creates a permanent record of a child’s sexual abuse,” the agency’s website reads, adding:
The expansion of the Internet and advanced digital technology lies parallel to the explosion of the child pornography market. Child pornography images are readily available through virtually every Internet technology, including social networking websites, file-sharing sites, photo-sharing sites, gaming devices, and even mobile apps. Child pornography offenders can also connect on Internet forums and networks to share their interests, desires, and experiences abusing children, in addition to selling, sharing, and trading images.
Former Gov. Christie is now a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.