Prominent Ivy League LGBT Activist Arrested on Child Porn Charge

Investigators arrested a LGBT activist and Princeton University alumnus last week on a charge of possession of child pornography, according to a local outlet.

Writing for NJ.com, Kevin Shea reported Tuesday that Roy ‘Trey’ Farmer was charged with one third-degree felony count of possession of child sexual abuse material.

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office told NJ.com that Farmer had been arrested Friday at his condo, which is reportedly directly across from the main entrance to Princeton.

According to the 2022 New Jersey Revised Statutes Title 2C – The New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice, Section 2C:24-4 – Endangering welfare of children (NJ Rev Stat § 2C:24-4 (2022)), “[a] person commits a crime of the third degree if he knowingly possesses, knowingly views, or knowingly has under his control, through any means, including the Internet, less than 1,000 items depicting the sexual exploitation or abuse of a child.”

If found guilty, Farmer could be looking at up to five years in prison and a $15,000 fine, according to the website of New Jersey law firm Helmer, Conley & Kasselman, P.A.

However, the firm noted, the prosecution will have to prove that Farmer knew or should reasonably have known that he was “in possession of a pornographic image depicting a minor (or simulating the depiction of a minor).”

Farmer could also be prosecuted under federal child pornography laws as well, the law firm suggested.

Investigators executed a search warrant at Farmer’s condo Friday in conjunction with his arrest.

They seized “multiple items of evidentiary value,” according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office cited by NJ.com.

“The prosecutor’s office said their Internet Crimes Against Children unit received a tip in January that a person in Mercer County uploaded an item that portrayed child sexual abuse material,” the outlet reported.

“The information came from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,” it added.

Farmer was being held in the Mercer County Jail, awaiting a Wednesday hearing in Superior Court, according to NJ.com.

A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office told the outlet that it would argue that Farmer should remain in custody until his trial.

Princeton referred inquiries to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, NJ.com said. Farmer is not an employee of the university, but has been an alumni volunteer.

“He’s is involved with or directs several university-related groups, like the Princeton University Glee Club Foundation and Queer Princeton Alumni, and a number of other organizations around the country, many involving music and some in Europe, according to online biographies and profile stories,” according to NJ.com.

Farmer, who also maintains a residence in Naples, Florida, is also a member of the board of directors of the Harvard Glee Club, according to its website.

The biographical information there says that Farmer had earned “degrees at Princeton and Yale before coming to Harvard” and had sung with “both the Princeton Glee Club and the Yale Glee Club.”