ALong Branch man was arrested by detectives from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office March 8 and charged with two counts of seconddegree endangering the welfare of a child and one count of fourth-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

The charges against Michael Richards, 43, result from an investigation conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office and allege that Richards distributed an image of child pornography on two occasions and that he allegedly possessed images of child pornography, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.

The Prosecutor’s Office investigation followed a referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

In December 2009, NCMEC received information that an email had been transmitted across the America Online network and that the email contained an embedded and/or attached file that contained an image of child pornography. The investigation conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office revealed that the email was sent from an account belonging to Richards, a press release from the Prosecutor’s Office states.

The investigation led to a lawful search of Richards’ residence on March 8, 2009, and the lawful seizure of two computers from Richards’ residence, the release states.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, a preliminary search of the two computers revealed that one of them contained images of child pornography. The investigation additionally confirmed that Richards emailed an image of child pornography using a different account on Feb. 3, 2010.

Richards is being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township, in lieu of $100,000 bail. Conditions of his bail prohibit him from using the Internet or having contact with children under 18 years old.

Under New Jersey law, the unlawful possession and distribution of images of child pornography is prohibited by the endangering the welfare of a child statute. If the child pornography is merely unlawfully possessed, the endangering the welfare of a child charge is a fourth-degree crime. If the child pornography is unlawfully distributed, the endangering charge is a second-degree crime. If convicted of second degree endangering the welfare of a child, Richards faces a maximum potential custodial sentence of up to 10 years in a state prison. If convicted of fourth-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Richards faces a maximum potential custodial sentence of up to 18 months.

Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and state law.