NJ teacher charged in disturbing case of child sexual abuse

🔴 A NJ teacher is charged with possession of child sexual abuse images

🔴 He's also accused of trying to pay a minor for nude photos and sex

🔴 He apparently talked to the minor on a mobile payment app

A history teacher at a Union County charter school has been arrested and charged with possessing images of child sexual abuse and for enticing a minor to engage in sexual acts and produce child pornography.

Jack Wilder, 26, a former Hoboken resident who moved to Somerville, made his initial court appearance Thursday before U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark.

Wilder, a history teacher at a charter school in Plainfield, communicated with a 16-year-old boy using a mobile payment application through which Wilder advised he would pay the minor to have sex, federal prosecutors said.

The teen also sent Wilder sexually explicit photos in exchange for money.

On Feb. 10, 2024, Wilder sent $1 to a minor with a comment that included Wilder’s Snapchat username or handle, according to the complaint. The minor sent a payment request to Wilder for $10 in exchange for pictures of his genitals, the complaint says.

Also, according to the complaint, when detectives interviewed the minor, he said Wilder approached him in Jersey City and offered him $100 for sex. He also claims Wilder invited him to his house, but he didn’t go.

On July 23, 2034, officers stopped Wilder when he got off a flight from Iceland at New York Stewart International.

Authorities searched Wilder’s cell phone and found files of naked pubescent males. After they told Wilder that his cell phone may contain child sexual abuse material, Wilder waived his right to remain silent and agreed to speak with law enforcement.

Wilder denied possessing child pornography and said he had never viewed or shared child porn. He also told authorities he did not communicate with minors on social media, other than through his work as a teacher, and that he never had any contact with any children sexually.

However, law enforcement officials found a video depicting child sexual abuse material and sexually explicit conversations between Wilder and other minors.

In addition to the video, law enforcement saw conversations on Wilder’s phone between Wilder and other minors on Snapchat. Contrary to Wilder’s denial of communicating with minors on social media, other than through his work as a teacher, Wilder’s Snapchat account included several conversations with individuals who were under 18 years old. Some claimed they were 15 years old in the weeks leading up to the search of Wilder’s cell phone at the airport.

Many of the Snapchat conversations involved Wilder asking the minors their ages, where they were located, whether they were athletes, and whether Wilder could perform oral sex on them, the complaint says.

On June 25, 2024, Wilder told a 17-year-old victim he would pay money to perform oral sex with him. At the end of the chat, the teen said, “And btw I told you I was 17 I’m contacting law enforcement.”

“Our children are the most innocent members of society, and they should never be victimized by anyone, particularly by those in positions of trust such as teachers,”  Homeland Security Investigations Newark Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel said.

The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The enticement of a minor charges each carries a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom