A 31-year-old school bus driver from Mercer County is facing federal charges that he distributed child pornography over email.

Christopher Walsh, of Yardville, was arrested Thursday after investigators alleged his email account had either sent or received 1,590 files containing images of child sexual abuse.

Walsh works for Somerville-based Kensington Bus Company, which declined to comment on the charges Friday.

Walsh was not charged with creating the images or with physically abusing children, but in emails with other unidentified individuals, Walsh shared video clips depicting girls being raped and claimed “here’s one that I made” about one clip, and “this girl was one that I met on a school trip one day” about another.

U.S. Attorney’s Office quotes emails allegedly sent by Walsh using an account with username "fatbusdriver0984" saying that he hoped to “play” with and get pictures of children he was babysitting. Walsh wrote that a 9-year-old girl he knew “should be easy” because she has Down syndrome, officials allege.

Authorities said his Facebook page noted that Walsh had visited at least seven camps and schools between August and September.

Walsh is facing three counts of distributing images or video files containing child pornography. If found guilty, Walsh could face five to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.

Walsh was scheduled to make his first court appearance Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Arpert in Trenton. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Friday morning.

 

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM