Acting Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello has announced that on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, members of the Bayonne Police Department arrested a Bayonne man following an investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
28-year old Anthony Santiago has been charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child/Possession of Child Sex Abuse Material, a crime of the third degree. Santiago was arrested at Bayonne Police Headquarters without incident and taken to the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending his first court appearance.
According to a press release, in July 2024, members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received information that child sex abuse material was being uploaded on a Snapchat account. During the course of the investigation, Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office detectives discovered hundreds of child sex abuse materials associated with Santiago’s online accounts and on his electronic devices.
Acting Prosecutor Mello credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Special Victims Unit, Cyber Crimes Unit and Bayonne Police Department with the investigation and arrest.
The above charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.