OCEAN COUNTY – A Manchester man has been charged with distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material following a multi-agency investigation, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
38-year-old Phillip Ommundsen was charged with three counts of distribution of child sexual abuse material and one count of possession of such material.
The case began with a referral from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Investigators traced online activity involving child sexual abuse images to an IP address linked to Ommundsen’s Manchester residence and identified two Kik Messenger accounts used to send and receive the images, authorities said.
Detectives later learned that Ommundsen had been arrested in Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania, on an unrelated matter and was being held in the Jefferson County Jail. His cellphone, seized by Reynoldsville Police, was turned over to Ocean County investigators, who executed a search warrant and conducted a forensic examination. The analysis revealed additional illicit material and confirmed the Kik accounts belonged to Ommundsen.
He will be formally served with the New Jersey charges while in Pennsylvania custody by agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations.
Billhimer credited the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Squad, Homeland Security Investigations, New Jersey State Police ICAC Task Force, Reynoldsville Police Department, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for their cooperation in the investigation.
