Former Somerset County, New Jersey, Music Teacher Admits Possessing Images Of Child Sexual Abuse

TRENTON, N.J. – A Somerset County, New Jersey, man today admitted possessing on his computer images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Cliff Ramsay, 30, of Raritan, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of possession of child pornography.   

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Feb. 25, 2015, and Feb. 27, 2015, Ramsay – at the time a music teacher at a public middle school in Hunterdon County – accessed a website known to contain images, videos, and other material containing images of child sexual abuse. A search warrant was executed at Ramsay’s home on July 28, 2015, and numerous files containing child pornography were found on his computer.

The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for July 6, 2016.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Campi in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson; the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Anthony P. Kearns III; the Raritan Police Department, under the direction of Chief Kenneth McCormick; and the Readington Police Department, under the direction of Chief Sebastian Donaruma, for their assistance with this investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Brendan Day of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.

Defense counsel: Joshua D. Altman Esq., Trenton