Missing New Jersey Woman: Ex-Boyfriend A Person Of Interest, Arrested On Unrelated Child Pornography Charges

The ex-boyfriend of a missing New Jersey woman was arrested Friday after he was discovered to be in possession of child pornography.

John Ozbilgen, 29, was arrested after police conducted a search of his home in Freehold Township, New Jersey. Police had conducted the search as part of ongoing efforts to locate missing 25-year-old Stephanie Parze when officers discovered child pornography in Ozbilgen’s possession.

Parze has been missing since Oct. 30 after spending the day with her family in New Brunswick. The last contact her family had with her was when she dropped her parents off before heading to her home 10 miles away. Her parents contacted police the next after not hearing from Parze since she had left the night before.

Parze’s dog, car, phone, and clothes were found at her home with the lights on and no signs of a struggle.

“Definitely not like her. If she can get to me, she would,” Parze’s father, Ed Parze, told New York NBC-affiliate WNBC. “Not knowing is the worst, not knowing is the worst. All we can hope for is that she’s alive and OK the things that go through my head is horrible. Horrible.”

Ozbilgen was named a person of interest after being identified as an ex-boyfriend of Parze. This was confirmed on Parze’s personal Facebook, where it said the pair had entered into a relationship in August before ending it shortly after.

Ozbilgen is in custody at Monmouth County Correctional Institution as police continue investigating.

Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Charles Webster told reporters that while he is still a person of interest in Parze’s disappearance, the child pornography charges are currently unrelated.