Camden County Man Admits Possessing Child Pornography

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden County, New Jersey, man with a prior child exploitation conviction admitted possessing child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today.

James Tierney, 56, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. Senior District Judge Robert B. Kugler in Camden federal court to one count of possession of child pornography.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In August 2020, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Tierney’s residence after receiving information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an online cloud account accessed from Tierney’s residence had uploaded images of child sexual abuse. While executing the search warrant, agents recovered Tierney’s cell phone, which contained multiple videos and images of child sexual abuse. Tierney admitted to agents that he used the cell phone and cloud account for possessing images of child sexual abuse.

Tierney has a prior New Jersey state conviction for endangering the welfare of a child/distribution of child pornography. The count of possession of child pornography after a prior child exploitation conviction carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a maximum $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for April 12, 2022.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, Cherry Hill Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina in Newark; the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crimes Unit, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay; and the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Superintendent Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. 

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey B. Bender of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division in Camden.