Former NJ social worker pleads guilty to possessing child pornography: prosecutors

NEWARK, N.J. (PIX11) – A former caseworker for the New Jersey Department of Children and Family Services pleaded guilty to possessing and sending child pornography, according to prosecutors. Trent Collier, 57, was charged with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of transportation of child pornography. Prosecutors alleged that law enforcement at [...]

NEWARK, N.J. (PIX11) – A former caseworker for the New Jersey Department of Children and Family Services pleaded guilty to possessing and sending child pornography, according to prosecutors.

Trent Collier, 57, was charged with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of transportation of child pornography.

Prosecutors alleged that law enforcement at Newark Liberty International Airport searched Collier's cellphone after he got off a flight from the Dominican Republic back in 2021. He admitted to officers that he had sent child pornography to someone and that the person also sent him child pornography, prosecutors said.

Officers then found multiple images of child sexual abuse on Collier's phone, according to prosecutors.

He faces up to 20 years in prison for possessing child pornography and between 5 to 20 years for sending it. He'll also be fined up to $250,000 for each count.

Collier is expected to be sentenced in October.