A suspected child pornography peddler in Mount Laurel risks lengthy prison time if convicted of four counts lodged by the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.

Thomas M Evans (Burlington Co. Dept. of Corrections)
Thomas M Evans (Burlington Co. Dept. of Corrections)
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Thomas M. Evans was arrested Wednesday, He faces four child endangerment counts, three in the second degree and one in the third degree, according to Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi.

Charges include knowingly distributing items depicting the sexual exploitation or abuse of a child, possessing with intent to distribute, storing or maintaining the images in a filesharing program, and knowingly viewing, or having under his control through any means including the Internet, an item of sexual exploitation or abuse of a child.

Each second-degree charges carries a possible prison term of five to 10 years. Third-degree charges can mean sentences of three to five years.

Authorities said that investigations into Evans's activities began in autumn 2015, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Newark and detectives in the Burlington Prosecutor's High-Tech Crime Unit and Mount Laurel Police.

Evans is accused of downloading multiple degrading images of children to his home computer, and opening access to others through the file sharing software.

Evans remains in the Burlington County Jail in lieu of $150,000 full bail. His first court appearance took place today. The matter will be presented to a grand jury for consideration.

The Prosecutor's Office issues the reminder that criminal charges are accusations, and that defendants are presumed innocent unless, and until, found guilty in a court of law.

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