Man who had thousands of child porn files gets prison term

SOUTHAMPTON, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey man who had thousands of child porn videos and images his laptop computer is now headed to prison.

Ahren Ricker received a five-year sentence on Wednesday and also must register as a sex offender. The 33-year-old Southampton man had pleaded guilty in January to distributing child porn.

Ricker admitted using file-sharing software to make the videos and images available to other users. He was arrested in August 2018, culminating an investigation that began when a state police detective identified a computer address that was offering multiple files on a network popular with child porn traders.

Investigators seized the laptop computer at Ricker’s home, along with a tablet computer, and cell phone. More than 4,000 files of child porn were found on the laptop.