Resident charged with pornography

The Passaic County Sheriff’s Department arrested a Hawthorne resident on Dec. 14 on charges of child pornography.

Borough resident   was arrested and charged with three counts of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.

The arrest came following a three-month undercover investigation conducted by the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department Internet Crime Task Force. According to a press release issued by the sheriff’s department, the investigation led to the discovery of 18 sexually explicit and graphic child pornography videos that were allegedly sent by Chmiel to a detective from the Internet Crime Task Force.

Authorities estimate that more than 1,000 pictures were confiscated during Chmiel’s arrest. The images include sexually explicit magazines and photographic images, according to the sheriff’s department.

“I want to commend the officers involved in this investigation,” said acting Sheriff Charles Meyers in a press release. “Possession of child pornography is a serious offense, I am glad this individual is off our street and will continue to work toward reducing the amount of child pornography being produced and distributed.”

Chmiel, a pool and spa technician, was taken into custody at 6:20 a.m. on Dec. 14. Bail was set at $50,000 with no 10-percent option and Chmiel was remanded to Passaic County Jail in lieu of bail.