A Ventnor Public Works employee is accused of sharing more than 1,000 images of child sexual abuse via Instagram.
Mark McGurk Jr., 25, who lives in Ventnor, is jailed on three first-degree charges and one second-degree. A detention hearing is set for Wednesday.
Instagram tipped off Internet Crimes Against Children about the account, which was linked to McGurk's email and cell phone number, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
An investigation into the account "revealed a large number of video and still files being shared by (McGurk's) account," Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office Detective Deborah Specht wrote in the affidavit. "The images were viewed and confirmed to contain in excess of 1,000 images of juveniles engaged in sex acts."
Detectives came to McGurk's Fulton Avenue home with a search warrant last Thursday, when he was also interviewed.
"When asked if McGurk had any idea why we wanted to speak with him, he responded, 'I heard you say child porn,'" Specht wrote, adding, "No one had mentioned the nature of the investigation to this point."
Ventnor Mayor Beth Holtzman is not commenting on the case, according to her office.
But she told NBC10's Ted Greenberg that McGurk was suspended without pay as soon as the city learned of the allegations.
“It’s very disturbing as the mayor of the city as well as a mother and a parent,” Holtzman told NBC.
She said there was no indication McGurk used any city-owned equipment while sharing the pornography.
