MANCHESTER – A township man has been indicted on charges related to the alleged possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, authorities said.
An Ocean County grand jury indicted Phillip Ommundsen, 38, on Sept. 9 on three counts of distributing child sexual abuse material and one count of possessing the illegal content, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced.
The investigation began after the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The report alleged that someone was transmitting and receiving illegal images online.
Detectives with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Squad traced the internet activity to an IP address connected to a Manchester residence, authorities said. Investigators determined that a Kik Messenger account allegedly used by Ommundsen contained uploaded and transmitted images and videos depicting child sexual abuse.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Ommundsen had been arrested on an unrelated charge in Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania, and that local police were holding his cellphone as evidence.
Ocean County investigators obtained a court-approved warrant to retrieve and examine the device. A forensic review allegedly uncovered child sexual abuse material and a Kik account connected to Ommundsen, authorities said.
Ommundsen was charged in the Ocean County case on Oct. 21, 2025. Homeland Security Investigations detectives served him with the complaint warrant at the Jefferson County Jail in Pennsylvania, where he remained incarcerated at the time of the announcement.
The prosecutor’s office credited the High Tech Crime Squad, Homeland Security Investigations, the state Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Reynoldsville police and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children with assisting in the investigation.
The charges are accusations, and Ommundsen is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
