Vineland police sergeant charged with possessing child sex abuse material

A New Jersey grand jury has indicted a sergeant with the Vineland Police Department for allegedly misusing his position to obtain images of child sexual abuse from a case his department was investigating, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said Wednesday.

Christopher Ortiz, 39, of Estell Manor in Atlantic County, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child by possessing child exploitation material, official misconduct, and tampering with public records, Platkin said.

“The allegations in this indictment are deeply troubling,” Platkin said in a statement. “Any time an officer allegedly abuses his position and misappropriates evidence, it’s a dishonor to the profession and a betrayal of the community’s trust. Given the nature of the evidence involved in this case, it is particularly disturbing.”

The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office said it received information on March 20, 2023, from a technology company providing online cloud storage for Verizon that a customer, Ortiz, had allegedly uploaded 76 files of apparent child sexual exploitation material.

After an initial investigation, Ortiz was arrested on March 21, 2023, and charged by criminal complaint with endangering the welfare of a child by possessing child exploitation material. Ortiz has been suspended without pay since then.

The grand jury indictment alleges that Ortiz requested from a subordinate and received the images from a police investigation. Ultimately, Ortiz allegedly “possessed, viewed, or had under his control at least 100 items depicting the sexual exploitation or abuse of children,” according to Platkin.

John Tumelty, the lawyer representing Ortiz, could not be reached for comment.