Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced today that a 62-year-old Evesham man was sentenced to 364 days in the Burlington County Jail for possession of child pornography.
Under an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, Scott J. Lucas, of the first block of Sheffield Drive, pled guilty in November to Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Third Degree) in exchange for the sentence. The term was handed down yesterday by the Hon. James J. Morley, J.S.C.
Upon release, Lucas must register as a sex offender and will be subjected to parole supervision for life.
The investigation began early last year after the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit received information regarding Lucas’s online activity from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Lucas was arrested in March 2019. The investigation revealed that Lucas would use online search engines to locate pictures of nude pre-pubescent girls.
“This is a despicable crime,” Prosecutor Coffina said. “We will continue to patrol cyberspace to track down those who possess and share child pornography, or otherwise exploit children through the Internet.”
Lucas was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Eife, supervisor of the BCPO Major Crimes Unit – Special Victims Section.
The investigation was conducted by the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit, with assistance from United States Homeland Security Investigations – Cherry Hill Office, and the Evesham Township Police Department.
The lead investigator was BCPO Detective Kevin Sobotka. The Prosecutor’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit is a member of the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the New Jersey State Police Cyber Terrorism Task Force.
All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
