Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw announced that a 24-year-old Delanco man is facing multiple child pornography-related charges after an investigation determined he was blackmailing young girls he met online into sending him nude images of themselves.
Bryce Berger was charged with Production of Child Sexual Abuse Material (First Degree), Possession with Intent to Distribute Child Sexual Abuse Material (Second Degree), Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (Second Degree), Impairing/Debauching the Morals of a Child (Second Degree), Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (Third Degree), Obscenity to a Minor (Third Degree) and Sexual Extortion (Third Degree).
Berger was arrested yesterday morning during the execution of a search warrant at his residence. He was lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly pending a detention hearing in Superior Court. The case will now be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment.
Multiple electronic devices were seized and will be examined by detectives from the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit.
Berger is employed by Medford Township Public Schools as a computer technician. It is a non-instructional position, and he was not around students in an unsupervised capacity, school officials indicated. It is not believed at this point that any of the victims were students at the school, although the investigation is continuing.
The investigation began after the Prosecutor’s Office received information concerning Berger’s online activities. The investigation revealed that Berger used an online app to request and receive nude photos from underage girls, then threatened to post those nude images if they failed to send him additional photos. The investigation further revealed that Berger sent sexually explicit images to victims, as well as images of child sexual abuse material to another person.
Investigators identified numerous victims ranging in age from approximately 12 to 17 years old.
The investigation was conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office, with assistance from the Delanco Township Police Department and United States Homeland Security Investigations – Cherry Hill Office. The New Jersey State Police TEAMS Unit assisted with the search warrant execution. The lead investigator is BCPO Detective Tiffany Lenart. Berger will be prosecuted by the BCPO Special Victims Unit.
All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.