U.S. Attorney's Office
July 28, 2015

Middle School Music Teacher Charged with Accessing, Possessing Images of Child Sexual Abuse

TRENTON, NJ—A Somerset County, New Jersey, man was arrested this morning after FBI agents found sexually explicit images of children on his home computer, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Cliff Ramsay, 30, of Raritan, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of accessing images of child sexual abuse and one count of possessing images of child sexual abuse. He appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Arpert in Trenton federal court and was detained pending a bail hearing.

According to the criminal complaint filed today and statements made in court:

On Feb. 25, 2015, and Feb. 27, 2015, Ramsay, a middle school music teacher who also gave music lessons to minors at his home, accessed a website known to contain images, videos and other material containing child pornography. After a search warrant was executed at Ramsay’s home earlier today, law enforcement agents found numerous videos and images of child sexual abuse on his computer, including material depicting prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Each count charged in the complaint carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest. Fishman also thanked the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Geoffrey D. Soriano; 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.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.