Joseph Velazquez : “Monmouth Co. Detective Posed As Child, Man Started Chatting, Arrested”

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ — A detective with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office posed online as a child under the age of 13, and started chatting with a 25-year-old North Jersey man, who said he wanted to meet the “child” for sex, said Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago.

The man arrested and criminally charged is Joseph Velazquez, 25, of Passaic. He is charged with two counts of child endangerment, through the distribution and possession of child sex abuse materials.

In February 2024, a Monmouth County detective was undercover in a group chat on the social media network Kik. While monitoring the chat group, the detective was contacted by another user, who went by the alias “blazeitupp1” and later identified as Velazquez.

The prosecutor says Velazquez sent the detective files of child porn, and also repeatedly expressed interest in having a sexual encounter with a fictitious child.

In the week of June 17, members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office and Passaic County Sheriff executed a search warrant at Velazquez’s home in Passaic, where they say they found child pornography files.

Velazquez was arrested without incident and is currently being held at the Monmouth County Jail.