Youth Wrestling Coach and Referee from Ocean County Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison for Distribution of Child Pornography

TRENTON, N.J. – An Ocean County, New Jersey, man was sentenced to 87 months in prison for distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Alec Donovan, 26, of Brick, New Jersey, a youth wrestling coach and referee, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi to an information charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography. Judge Quraishi imposed the sentence on March 28, 2024, in Trenton federal court.

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

From January 2021 through March 2021, Donovan used an internet-based application to exchange multiple images and videos of child sexual abuse, including depictions involving pre-pubescent children. Donovan also used the web-based messaging application to solicit and engage in conversations with minors, including requesting nude photographs from the minors and sending nude photographs to them.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Quraishi sentenced Donovan to 30 years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited the Newark Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task force, under the direction of FBI Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Goldman of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.