June 1, 2021
JACKSON, NJ (MERCER)–Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on May 28, 2021, Matthew Wolny, 43, of Jackson, was sentenced by the Honorable Michael T. Collins, J.S.C., to five years New Jersey State Prison with a five-year period of parole ineligibility relative to a previously entered guilty plea to Distribution of Child Pornography in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4b(5)(a). Wolny will also be required to register as a Megan’s Law offender upon his release from prison. Wolny pled guilty to the charge on November 26, 2018, before Judge Collins; sentencing in Ocean County was delayed pending Wolny being sentenced on related federal charges involving child pornography.
An investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit and Jackson Township Police Department in 2013 determined that Wolny had been distributing child pornography through a file sharing application on his computer. On September 26, 2013, Detectives executed a search warrant on Wolny’s residence; as a result, Detectives seized computer equipment belonging to Wolny that contained evidence of child pornography distribution.
During the course of the investigation, Detectives located multiple videos from the YMCA in Toms River wherein Wolny hid a camera in a bathroom area and videotaped multiple individuals changing and showering. In addition, further investigation revealed that Wolny had videotaped students in Maryland during a class trip; at the time, Wolny was a youth band leader and IT director for the Howell Township school system. Wolny was charged by the United States Attorney’s Office in 2018 relative to these offenses. On August 20, 2019, Wolny was sentenced to eight years in federal prison on the charge of Receiving Child Pornography. He is currently serving that sentence in a federal correctional facility in Mississippi. Wolny’s sentence for Distribution of Child Pornography out of Ocean County will run concurrent with his federal sentence.
Prosecutor Billhimer acknowledges the diligent efforts of Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Kristin Pressman who handled the case on behalf of the State, as well as the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Jackson Township Police Department, and United States Department of Homeland Security, for their collaborative efforts in connection with this investigation, ultimately resulting in Wolny’s prison sentence.
Matthew Wolny, 43, of Jackson
Matthew Wolny, 43, of Jackson