Manalapan chat room user accused of uploading child pornography

A Manalapan web surfer, accused of uploading child pornography to a chat room, faces three charges following his Monday arrest.

Bail for Sean Gillet, 32, was set at a full $150,000 by a Monmouth County judge, according to County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni's office.

Under conditions of bail, Gillet was ordered to avoid using the Internet and to have no unsupervised contact with children under age 18.

Gillet is charged with two second-degree counts of child pornography distribution and one third-degree possession count, each under the heading of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

On June 1 of this year, according to authorities, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a report of a suspected child pornoography upload from the free group-chat service Chatstep, which traced the IP address to Gillet's home.

An upload of an image to a chat room opens its visibility to everyone connected to it.

Investigators, bearing a warrant, seized computers, personal electronic devices and electronic storage devices. They reported finding numerous pornographic images contained in a thumb drive in Gillet's bedroom.

If convicted, Gillet risks five to 10 years in prison for each second-degree charge and would be subject to provisions of Megan's Law after incarceration.Conviction on the third-degree charge would entail a three-to-five-year term.

Charges are accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless, and until, found guilty in a court of law.