A Morris County, New Jersey, man today admitted his role in producing images of child sexual abuse according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
Colin M. Skeele, 32, of Florham Park, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of producing child pornography. Skeele was previously arrested and charged by on Aug. 4, 2016, says the Justice Department.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Skeele previously worked as a counselor at a boys’ summer camp in Hardwick, New Jersey, and as a teacher at parochial schools in Boonton, New Jersey, and Stirling, New Jersey.
In 2011, Skeele became Facebook friends with a boy that Skeele met while working as a counselor at a boys’ summer camp in Hardwick, New Jersey. In Facebook messages with the minor, Skeele offered to pay money for the minor to take sexually explicit photographs to send to Skeele. In one instance, Skeele paid the boy approximately $100 to send nude images of himself. Skeele later sent at least one pornographic image of that minor to another minor that had also attended the summer camp.
On multiple occasions in February 2012, Skeele communicated online with individuals located in the Philippines to purchase live child sexual abuse shows, which Skeele viewed via an online video chat service. Instant messages obtained during the investigation revealed that Skeele used an online fund transfer service to purchase live sexual abuse videos of young children.
The charge of producing child pornography to which Skeele pleaded guilty is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 22, 2018, reported the U.S. Attorneys Office.
