Morris County Teacher, Coach Sentenced to Over 17 Years for Exploiting Minors Online

A Morristown man associated with an elementary school and a youth soccer club has been sentenced to 204 months in prison after admitting to the production and possession of child pornography, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.

MORRISTOWN, NJ - Steven Brooks, 37, of Morristown, New Jersey, faced sentencing today by U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti in Newark federal court. Brooks had previously entered guilty pleas to charges of both producing and possessing child pornography before former U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez.

Investigations began in January 2021 when law enforcement was alerted to potential child pornography on an external hard drive owned by Brooks. Following judicially authorized search warrants, officers scrutinized Brooks’ electronic devices and social media accounts. 

It was revealed that Brooks had created male and female personas online to entice minors into sending sexually explicit images and videos. He admitted to attempting online enticement, as well as the production and possession of child pornography, involving at least 79 victims.

In addition to the over 17-year (204-month) prison sentence, Judge Martinotti mandated 10 years of supervised release for Brooks and ordered him to pay restitution totaling $237,000.

The case was propelled by the collaborative efforts of the Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force of the FBI’s Newark field office, led by Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy, and contributions from the FBI’s San Francisco field office, under Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit in Newark represented the government in this case.