A man from Hunterdon County, New Jersey, has been indicted on a federal charge of possessing videos and images depicting child sexual abuse. David Tuytjens, 70, of Tewksbury Township, appeared before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court and pleaded not guilty to the charge.
According to court documents and statements made during the proceedings, officers from the New Jersey State Parole Board visited Tuytjens’ home in December 2024 as part of his Community Supervision for Life. Tuytjens is prohibited from having Internet-capable devices due to a previous state conviction for aggravated sexual assault. During the visit, officers found several electronic devices, including a MicroSD card inside a laptop. An examination of the storage card revealed at least 800 images and 30 video files containing child sexual abuse materials.
The review indicated that some of these materials depicted prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, sadistic or masochistic acts, and included content involving infants or toddlers.
Because Tuytjens has prior convictions—including a federal conviction for possession of child pornography—the current charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. The offense also includes a possible fine up to $250,000.
Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello credited special agents from the Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force in Newark (Federal Bureau of Investigation), the New Jersey State Parole Board, and the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office with conducting the investigation that led to this indictment.
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick is representing the government in this case.
Authorities remind that an indictment is only an accusation; Tuytjens is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Defense counsel for Tuytjens is Carlos Diaz-Cobo.
