The Branchburg man was arrested last year after an FBI investigation.
TRENTON -- A Branchburg man arrested last year and held in federal custody since then was arraigned Thursday on charges that he created a website designed to produce child pornography by tricking minors into sexually explicit acts in front of webcams.
Jonathan Soto, 26, appeared in federal court before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson, where he pleaded not guilty to a count of conspiracy to produce child pornography and possession of child pornography, court records show.
Federal authorities allege that from July 2014 through April 2015, Soto operated a website that lured minors by having users create phony profiles on social media websites. With the false profiles of children between the ages of 10 and 16, users chatted with actual minors and lured them to other websites to engage in private chats, according to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman's office.
Once inside the private chat room, users then persuaded the minors to engage in sexually explicit activity, it said.
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Unbeknownst to them, webcams secretly recorded the minors, and those videos were shared on Soto's web site, it said.
A criminal complaint says FBI agents executed a search warrant on Soto's house last April 15, where they found seven computer monitors, six hard drives and a computer tower that allegedly had images of child pornography.
The conspiracy to produce child pornography count carries a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, and a maximum of 30 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine Fishman's office said. The possession of child pornography count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, it said.
Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook.