Brick Town man pleads guilty to sexual assault of a child

Brick Township, NJ – Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer has announced that Christopher Budelman, 37, of Brick Township, has pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault. His plea was entered Friday before Judge Kenneth T. Palmer, JSC, and relates to incidents that occurred in June 2022. The state is seeking a seven-year sentence in New Jersey State Prison on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently. Budelman will also face the terms of Megan’s Law, Nicole’s Law, which prohibits contact with victims, and lifetime parole supervision.

The investigation began with a referral from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The task force identified someone who was uploading child pornography using the Kik messenger app. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit traced the activity to a Verizon Wireless account belonging to Budelman.

On September 27, 2022, law enforcement agencies, including the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit and the Brick Township Police Department, executed a search warrant at Budelman’s residence. They confiscated several electronic devices and discovered a desktop computer containing child pornography images.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – A theft by unlawful taking was reported on South River Street, leading to an active investigation by the City of Wilkes-Barre Police. On Monday, October 7, at 4:00 p.m., a 28-year-old woman from Wilkes-Barre visited the city headquarters and reported that her firearm had been stolen.

The victim stated that she hosted a party at her house on October 5th. When she checked her bathroom cabinet the next day, she discovered that her Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol was missing. At the time of reporting, no information was available on any of the suspects.

Police confirmed the incident and are investigating to find the missing firearm. The case is logged under IRC number 240217827 and authorities are working to identify leads to the person responsible.

Wilkes-Barre City Police are asking anyone with information about this incident to come forward. The investigation is still ongoing as attempts are made to recover the weapon and bring the perpetrator to justice.

Wilkes-Barre, PA – A 30-year-old man from Ashley, Pennsylvania was arrested by Wilkes-Barre City Police Monday afternoon. The arrest came after the suspect attempted to present officers with false identification.

The incident occurred at 2:45 p.m. near South Main Street and Academy Street when patrol officers discovered Joel Perez had an active arrest warrant. The warrant was originally issued by the Dickson City Police Department.

When contacted, officers informed Perez of the active arrest warrant. Perez responded by giving a false name but was subsequently arrested.

During the subsequent search following his arrest, officers discovered suspected narcotics and drug paraphernalia in Perez’s possession. It was then transported to the city headquarters for further processing.