Federal authorities arrested a Preston man Wednesday on child pornography possession and distribution charges.

Joel “Jay” Huntsman, 34, is charged with using the instant messaging app Kik to distribute child sex abuse images and videos to other Kik users, federal officials allege. Huntsman’s arrest was announced Thursday by U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery and Jean Pierre Njock, acting special agent in charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI.

After his arrest, Huntsman appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven where he was ordered detained.

Court records allege that Hunstsman had shared the images and videos in June 2022. A Kik user had submitted a CyberTip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a user, subsequently identified as Huntsman, had distributed child sex abuse images and videos to another Kik user.

In November, the FBI conducted a court-authorized search of Huntsman’s residence and seized multiple items, including two mobile phones. Analysis of the seized phones revealed images of child pornography, officials said.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel E. Cummings and Nancy V. Gifford as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.