Montclair State student charged with allegedly creating ‘child sexual abuse and exploitation material’
A Montclair State University student has been arrested and charged with allegedly possessing and creating “child sexual abuse and exploitation material,” the result of an investigation led by the state’s Division of Criminal Justice Cybercrime Bureau and Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce.
Keyon Luff, a 21-year-old junior at Montclair State, was taken into custody on May 3, after detectives and the Montclair State University Police Department executed a search warrant on Luff’s dorm room, according to a press release from the state Attorney General’s office.
Luff has been charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child for manufacturing “child sexual abuse and exploitation material (sometimes referred to as CSAEM), second-degree sexual assault, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child for possession of CSAEM and third-degree impersonation. He is a resident of Edgewater Park.
During the search of Luff’s dorm room, “detectives seized numerous digital devices and determined he was not only in possession of CSAEM, but also created fictitious social media accounts to contact underage children and engage in sexually explicit conversations,” the release says,
“In some of those conversations, Luff directed children to perform sexual acts, record them, and send them to him via social media platforms,” the release says.
First-degree charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $200,000. Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
The investigation that led to Luff’s arrest was initiated following a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the release says. The center reported that a cloud-based file hosting service reported that several files of suspected CSAEM were uploaded to its platform. Investigators determined that the IP address used to upload the files was associated with Montclair State University. Further investigation identified Luff as a suspect, the release says.
Deputy Attorney General Robert Guarni is prosecuting the case for the Cybercrime Bureau.
"The NJ Attorney General's office earlier today announced that a residential student has been arrested and charged with creating and possessing materials relating to child sexual abuse," Montclair State University said in a statement, adding that Luff had been a resident of Gordon Hall.
"The university immediately banned the individual from campus, pending the outcome of the matter," the statement says. "The allegations are abhorrent and do not align with our mission and values."
The university referred people to the Attorney General's press release for more information.
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in the release: “I commend the work of the dedicated men and women of the Division of Criminal Justice for their ongoing work on this case and the countless other cases against individuals who use the internet as a means to gain access into the lives of children. Through our tireless efforts, we are working to identify and bring to justice those who seek to exploit the most vulnerable members of society – our children.”
Luff is being held at Essex County Jail pending a detention hearing.