⚠️ MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP MAN INDICTED IN OCEAN COUNTY CHILD SEX ABUSE MATERIAL CASE ⚖️
An Ocean County grand jury indicted Phillip Ommundsen of Manchester Township for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material through social media. Ommundsen is currently serving a prison sentence in Pennsylvania for separate charges involving the attempted assault of a minor.
A 39-year-old Manchester Township man has been indicted in connection with allegations that he distributed videos depicting child sexual abuse through social media messaging accounts, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Phillip M. Ommundsen was indicted September 9 by an Ocean County grand jury on three counts of distributing child sexual abuse material and one count of possessing child sexual abuse material, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Ocean County authorities began investigating after receiving information that videos depicting child sexual abuse were being sent to other accounts through Kik Messenger. Investigators traced the activity to an internet address associated with a Manchester residence, which authorities identified as Ommundsen’s home.
Investigators later learned that Ommundsen was already incarcerated in Pennsylvania following a separate case.
According to Pennsylvania court records and reporting cited in the investigation, Ommundsen was arrested in September 2024 after traveling to Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania, to meet someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl. Authorities instead encountered him at the meeting location.
A forensic examination of his cellphone, which had been held as evidence in Pennsylvania, reportedly identified images and videos depicting child sexual abuse dating from April 2023 through September 2024. Investigators also identified two Kik Messenger accounts associated with Ommundsen.
The Ocean County investigation reportedly resulted in charges in October 2025, with the case proceeding to the September 2026 grand jury indictment.
Ommundsen previously pleaded guilty in Pennsylvania in March 2025 to criminal attempt to commit statutory sexual assault and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. He was sentenced in June 2025 to 18 months to five years in prison, followed by five years of probation. Court records indicate his appeal was denied in July 2026, and he remains incarcerated in Pennsylvania.
⚖️ The charges in the New Jersey case are allegations. An indictment is not a finding of guilt, and Ommundsen is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
📸 Photo Credit: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections