Bergen County Man Charged with Production of Child Pornography

NEWARK, N.J. - A Bergen County, New Jersey, man was charged for producing a video depicting child sexual abuse and receiving and possessing images and videos of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Corey Hipscher, 52, of Lodi, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count each of production, receipt and possession of child pornography. He had his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court on March 26, 2024, and was detained.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From 2020 to August 2023, Hipscher communicated with a minor victim located outside of the United States using a social media platform. Hipscher encouraged the minor victim to send Hipscher images and videos of the minor victim engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Hipscher began communicating with the minor victim's mother, beginning a purported online romantic relationship with the minor victim's mother which he used to arrange for the minor victim and the minor victim's family to travel to the United States, specifically New Jersey. During the visit, he sexually assaulted the minor victim and took sexually explicit photos of the minor victim and the minor victim's sibling.

The charge of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 25 years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of 50 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of receipt of child exploitation material carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. The charge of possession of child exploitation material carries a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited FBI Newark's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. U.S. Attorney Sellinger also thanked the Lodi Police Department and the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department's Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Nadel of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.