West Long Branch, NJ man exposed himself at park, uploaded child sex abuse material, cops say

One of more than a dozen people arrested since April as the result of investigations related to computer crimes and offenses and children, a Monmouth County man has been indicted for lewdness, possession of child sex abuse material, and drug possession.

Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced Friday that a grand jury returned a three-count indictment against 51-year-old Michael Russo, who's accused of videotaping himself while masturbating in a park, having child sex abuse files on a drive connected with his email address, and possessing cocaine.

According to the prosecutor's office, an investigation revealed that in 2019, Russo uploaded "several dozen digital files constituting child sexual abuse material" to his Google Drive over the span of nine months. Additional evidence shows that the West Long Branch resident exposed himself while at a public park in Asbury Park in July 2019.

Russo is charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child via possession of child sexual abuse material, third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance, and fourth-degree lewdness.

Contact reporter Dino Flammia at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com.