A convicted sex offender was indicted for allegedly sending sexual images to eight children ages 9-14 in eight states.
Sherman Miller, 49, convinced one of the children to send images back, resulting in a first-degree charge of endangering the welfare of a child by causing the child to engage in pornography, acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton said.
The year-long investigation resulted in a 12-count indictment, including possession or viewing of a pornographic image depicting the sexual exploitation or abuse of a child, a third-degree crime, along with failure to register as a sex offender and failing to register a change of address.
Texas law enforcement and detectives with the prosecutor's Computer Crimes Unit began their investigation last January, and arrested Miller at his home Feb. 4, 2016.
At the time, he was charged with sending images to a child in Texas, and convincing the victim to send him an image as well, Ruberton said.
He has been lodged in the Atlantic County Justice Facility since on $50,000 full cash bail.
A continued investigation found additional victims in Michigan, Georgia, Massachusetts, California, Missouri, South Carolina and Mississippi, leading to the indictment last week on charges including seven counts of endangering the welfare of a child by engaging in sexual conduct.
Miller sent pictures of his penis to the victims, and then video of him masturbating.
A conviction on the first-degree crime carries a potential sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison. The third degree is three to five years.
Miller, who has also gone by Sherman Hampton, has a criminal history dating to at least 1986, when he was arrested on a robbery charge, court records show.
That was moved back to municipal court, as was a 1988 arrested for aggravated assault.
He was sentenced to 10 years for a 1994 rape in Cape May County, court records show. Three years without parole ineligibility.
In 2001, he faced charges of theft and heroin possession. Four years later, he was given a year in prison for failing to register as a sex offender.
His last arrest was in 2012, on another drug charge.
