CLARK — A middle-school teacher in the Clark Public School district has been arrested on charges related to the possession and distribution of child pornography.
According to information provided by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office (SCPO), Matthew Serwedes, 48, of Hillsborough, a multimedia technologies teacher and the district’s kTV supervisor, is accused of transmitting “files depicting the sexual abuse and/or exploitation of a minor via a social media and messaging platform.”
“The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office has advised the District that there is no reason to believe that [Serwedes] had involved any Clark students in his activities,” Clark Superintendent Edward Grande said, adding that Serwedes, who has worked in the district for more than 20 years, was immediately suspended following his arrest on Tuesday.
“The District will cooperate fully with any ongoing investigation by law enforcement officials,” Mr. Grande said. “As this matter involves both an ongoing criminal investigation and a school district personnel issue, the District is prevented from commenting further.”
In a recent press release, the SCPO explained that investigations into Serwedes’ online activity began after a report was issued to the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force through a Cyber Tipline.
“Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit detectives, along with members of the Hillsborough Township Police Department, executed a Superior Court search warrant at Serwedes’ residence. As a result of the search warrant, electronic devices were seized for further forensic analysis,” the SCPO said via press release.
No further information regarding the nature of the allegations has been released at this time.
Serwedes was taken into custody without incident and was held in the Somerset County jail.
On Wednesday afternoon, Serwedes’ attorney, Jason Seidman, Esq., entered a plea of not guilty before Judge Michael Fedun.
Judge Fedun granted Serwedes’ release with the conditions that he have no unsupervised contact with minors and no access to the Internet (with the exception of contact with the court and his attorney) as sought by the prosecutor’s office.
The issue of unsupervised contact with his own child will be reviewed by the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency, as according to Mr. Seidman there are no allegations regarding Serwedes’ child and are solely “Internet related”.
Serwedes was charged with Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Materials in the second degree and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials in the third degree.
According to state statute, Serwedes could face fines of up to $150,000 and a prison sentence of between five and 10 years if convicted.
The investigation remains ongoing by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit.
Anyone with information relating to the investigation is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit at (908) 231-7100 or the Hillsborough Township Police Department at (908) 369-4323 or via the STOPit app. The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports, including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to a smartphone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ. Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.
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This story was updated on Wednesday, February 26 at 2:10 p.m.
