A New Jersey magician was arrested on child pornography charges after a tipster found girls’ underwear in his magic shop, according to court documents. The tipster also found a bag of USB sticks in the shop, which the magician smashed with a hammer, according to the affidavit.
Scott Morley, 48, was arrested May 15 on charges of possession of child sexual abuse images and endangering the welfare of a child.
The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office statement Morley was released from prison on pretrial supervision. Conditions of release include no unsupervised internet use, no unsupervised contact with minors under the age of 18, and must remain in New Jersey.
Morley was a children’s magician and owner of Morley’s Magic Theatre in Butler, New Jersey. The magic shop reportedly recently closed, and the theatre’s website and Facebook page have been taken down.
On April 12, a tipster reported allegations against Morley to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
The accuser was allegedly hired by Morley to paint the interior of Morley’s Magic Theatre and completed the job in 2022.
During the renovation, the informant found “a bag containing a USB flash drive and a pair of women’s underwear,” according to court documents.
According to the affidavit, the informant said that when he confronted Morley about the USB drive and his underwear, Morley “pulled out a hammer and destroyed the USB drive.”
On April 12, detectives interviewed the caller and contacted Morley.
patch Morley reportedly told detectives he had been interested in child pornography since 1996 and had about 50 “suspicious” images on his cell phone.
According to the indictment, Morley told detectives he had a preference for “young” child pornography.
According to court documents, Morley “stated on multiple occasions that children’s underwear was part of his fantasies” and derived sexual gratification from the illicit photographs.
Authorities obtained a search warrant and found several images of prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts on his devices, an affidavit in the charging document said.
Mr Morley’s estranged wife, Britni Morley, has reportedly been involved in her husband’s business since 2014 and also serves as a Butler Borough Councillor.
Britni Mowry has not been charged with any crime.
of New York Post The Morleys have two young daughters, and all four were reportedly performing in magic shows until late last year.
The media outlet reported that some Butler residents plan to call for Britney Morley to resign from the council at the next council meeting on June 18. They claim that his wife knew about his alleged child sex crimes before his arrest.
“Any suggestion of wrongdoing on her part is unfounded, offensive and ultimately destructive to the criminal justice process. We seek to finalize the divorce so that our client can focus on raising her two children and providing for them financially and emotionally,” Britni Morley’s divorce attorney, Andrew Delaney, said in a statement.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at 973-285-6200.
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