Police officer took photos up a child’s shorts, NJ prosecutor says. Arrest made

A police officer was caught with photographs taken up a child’s shorts and was arrested in New Jersey, a prosecutor announced.

Patrick Kelly, 37, of Winslow Township, took the photos himself with an iPhone, according to a complaint provided to McClatchy News by the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.

Kelly is a state park police officer, according to an April 18 news release from the office. An attorney for Kelly was not provided in court documents.

He was arrested on child sexual abuse material charges on April 17 at the New Jersey State Park Police Headquarters in Egg Harbor City, about 20 miles northwest of Atlantic City, officials said.

When taking the photos, Kelly tried photographing “the victim’s intimate parts,” the complaint says.

He was suspended without pay on April 18 due to the pending criminal charges against him, Larry Hajna, a press officer for the New Jersey Department on Environmental Protection, told McClatchy News in a statement on April 19.

Kelly has worked as a state park police officer since 2012, Hajna said. His most recent salary was $76,491 ahead of his suspension, according to Hajna.

He’s facing two charges, including a second-degree manufacturing child sexual abuse materials and third-degree possession of child sexual abuse materials, the prosecutor’s office said.

The charges came following an investigation involving the prosecutor’s office, Homeland Security Investigations office in Cherry Hill and the West Deptford Township Police Department, according to the release. The Camden County Sheriff’s Office, state park police and the Winslow Township Police Department also helped investigate Kelly. The investigation began after an online tip was received, according to the criminal complaint.

Winslow Township, where Kelly is from, is about 35 miles northwest of Atlantic City.

This story was originally published April 19, 2023 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Police officer took photos up a child’s shorts, NJ prosecutor says. Arrest made."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.