A Manalapan woman accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old she had been baby-sitting and then streaming video of the alleged abuse over the Internet made her initial appearance in federal court today.
Jennifer Mahoney is charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a child. Authorities say the 32-year-old committed numerous sexual assaults on the child, laughing while she did so and again as she streamed the video over the Internet to at least two other people.
Investigators discovered the alleged abuse while investigating a man in Texas. Authorities say they first found the disturbing videos back in November on the computer of Robert Ramos Jr., 32, of Austin, Texas. Ramos was under investigation in connection with another child pornography case.
Last month, federal and state investigators searched the Manalapan home Mahoney shares with her parents.
Authorities say Mahoney shared the videos with a second individual, but that person has not been identified.