A kids’ magician was arrested on child pornography charges after a tipster discovered a pair of girl’s underwear at his magic shop in New Jersey, according to court documents. The tipster also found a bag of thumb drives at the magic shop and the magician smashed them with a hammer, according to the affidavit.
Scott Morley, 48, was arrested on May 15 for possession of images of child sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.
The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that Morley was released from jail on pre-trial supervision. The conditions of his release include no unsupervised internet usage, no unsupervised contact with minors under the age of 18, and remaining in the state of New Jersey.
Morley was a magician targeting children and owned the Morley’s Magic Theater in Butler, New Jersey. The magic shop reportedly has recently closed down. The theater’s website and Facebook page have been scrubbed.
On April 12, a tipster reported allegations against Morley to the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce.
The tipster was allegedly hired by Morley to paint the interior of Morley’s Magic Theater, and completed the job in 2022.
During the renovation, the tipster found “a bag of thumb drives and a pair of children’s female underwear,” according to court documents.
The tipster said they confronted Morley about the USB drives and underwear, and Morley “took a hammer and destroyed” the thumb drives, according to the affidavit.
On April 12, a detective interviewed the tipster and contacted Morley.
The Patch reported Morley told the detective that he had an interest in child porn dating back to 1996, and allegedly possessed approximately 50 “questionable” images on his cell phone.
According to charging documents, Morley told the detective that he preferred child pornography involving “young ones.”
Court docs revealed that Morley “stated on several occasions that the kid’s underwear are a part of his fantasy” and that he gets sexual gratification from the illicit photos.
Officials obtained a search warrant and found several images of pre-pubescent children engaged in sexual acts on his devices, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Morley’s estranged wife, Britni Morley, was reportedly involved in her husband’s business since 2014 and also sits on the Butler Borough Council.
Britni Morley has not been charged with any crimes.
The New York Post reported that the Morleys have two young daughters, and all four performed in the magic show until late last year.
The outlet reported that some residents of Butler are going to demand Britni Morley resign from the council at the next meeting on June 18. They are suggesting that the wife knew of her husband’s alleged child sex crimes before his arrest.
Britni Morley’s divorce attorney, Andrew DeLaney, said, “Any suggestions of wrongdoing on her part are baseless, disgusting, and ultimately destructive to the criminal justice process. We look to conclude the divorce so that my client can focus on raising her two children and providing for them financially and emotionally.”
Anyone with information about this investigation is urged to contact the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force of the Sex Crimes / Child Endangerment Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at 973-285-6200.
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