A former Kearny resident will likely spend the next nine years behind bars after being sentenced to prison after admitting to possessing and transporting child porn, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Trent Collier, 58, of Kearny, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti to an indictment charging him with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of transportation of child pornography.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On or about Sept. 28, 2021, Collier arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport aboard a flight from the Dominican Republic. Upon his arrival, law enforcement searched Collier’s cellular phone and identified at least two images of child pornography.
In a statement to law enforcement, Collier admitted he had previously sent child pornography to at least one other person using his mobile phone and that person also sent child pornography to Collier’s phone. A further search of Collier’s phone uncovered multiple videos of child pornography, including videos depicting the sexual exploitation of toddlers.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Martinotti sentenced Collier to five years of supervised release.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.