Ocean County special police officer arrested on child porn charges

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. (WPVI) -- Police in Ocean County, New Jersey have arrested a police officer on child pornography charges.

21-year-old Kevin Meier of Seaside Heights was arrested Tuesday night and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.

Meier was taken into custody at the Seaside Heights Police Headquarters, where he worked as a Class II Special Police Officer.

The investigation began after a tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force stated that an individual in Ocean County had uploaded suspected child pornography to the internet.

The Ocean County High Tech Crime Unit, South Toms River Police Department, and Seaside Heights Police Department executed a search warrant of Meier's home where they confiscated numerous files related to child pornography on his computer.

Seaside Heights Chief Thomas Boyd immediately terminated Meier's employment.

His bail is currently set at $50,000.

The prosecutor's office said Meier's role as a special police officer would be to patrol during the summer months, since the population quadruples during that time. He would work full time with the same duties as other officers, but would be released at the end of the summer.