NEWARK, N.J. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - New Jersey), published as received.
NEWARK, N.J. – A former teacher was sentenced to 105 months in prison for possessing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Matthew Ozol, 41, of Jersey City, New Jersey previously pleaded guilty before Judge Evelyn Padin to an Information charging him with one count of possession of child pornography.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In August 2025, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Ozol’s residence. A review of communications from Ozol’s electronic devices revealed that since at least 2022, Ozol had sent and received messages on encrypted messaging applications expressing a desire to sexually abuse children, including in a chat group titled “Baby Rapist.” More than 100 images and 75 videos depicting child pornography, including many depicting sexual abuse of infants and toddlers, were recovered from Ozol’s electronic devices.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Padin sentenced Ozol to 10 years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $10,000 to a victim of his offense.
U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.
U.S. Attorney Frazer has announced proactive steps to connect with New Jersey’s families and communities, bringing training opportunities and resources through direct outreach. Organizations and community members interested in arranging prevention programming or learning more about available resources can contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey at USANJ.CommunityOutreach@usdoj.gov. Moreover, prevention resources are available through the Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Prevention webpage and the Department of Homeland Security’s Know2Protect Campaign.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O’Leary of the Health Care Fraud and Opioids Enforcement Unit.
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Defense Counsel:
Eric R. Breslin, Esq., Florham Park, New Jersey
Sarah Fehn Stewart, Esq., Florham Park, New Jersey
