A 37-year-old Brick Township man pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges two years after investigators say he used a popular messaging app to upload images of child pornography to the internet.

Christopher Budelman pleaded guilty on Oct. 4 to two counts of sexual assault in connection with incidents that took place in June 2022, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer. The investigation began when the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force discovered that someone was uploading images of child pornography to the internet using the Kik Messenger App. The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office High Tech Crime Unit then linked Budelman to the Verizon Wireless account that was being used to upload the pictures, authorities said.

On Sept. 27, 2022, a search warrant was executed at Budelman's home in Brick by members of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, along with a state police K-9 unit, Brick Township police and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. Investigators seized a desktop computer with a hard drive containing multiple images of child pornography as well as multiple electronic devices.

"A full forensic examination of the electronic devices seized by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office High TechCrime Unit - as result of the execution of the Sept. 27, 2022 search warrant - revealed that Budelman hadenticed two minors - one in Colorado and one in Ohio - to engage in sexually explicit conduct while he engagedin acts of sexual self-gratification," the prosecutor said in a statement. "Budelman recorded and saved those video chats on his computer."

At the time of the investigation, detectives learned that Budelman was out of the country. They issued an arrest warrant and entered his name in the National Crime Information Center Database. On Oct. 4, he was apprehended at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

"Budelman was extradited to Ocean County, lodged in the Ocean County Jail, and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform," Billhimer said. In December, investigators filed additional charges of sexual assault, child endangerment, manufacturing and distributing child pornography, criminal sexual contact and possession of child pornography. He surrendered to Brick police on Dec. 20, 2022, and remains in Ocean County Jail.

The state will be seeking a term of 7 years in New Jersey State Prison for each count when Budelman is sentenced. He would also be subject to the terms of Megan's Law and Nicole's Law, which permanently prohibit him from having any contact with his victims. He would also face parole supervision for the rest of his life.