HAMILTON, N.J. (AP) A former teacher and a school custodian are among 40 men facing child pornography possession charges following a sweep that resulted in arrests in every county in New Jersey.
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“This type of operation is nothing new, yet people continue to ignore the arrests and seek this depraved material regardless of the impact to the children it victimizes, or to society at large”, said Col. Rick Fuentes, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.
“No matter where you live in the state of New Jersey, this is happening there”, said State Police Lt. John Pizzuro, the commander of the state’s regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force, in an interview at the force’s technology center in Hamilton. Twenty of the men were charged with possession of 100 or more files, which “triggers a presumption of prison even for first time offenders”, Porrino said.
“We’re monitoring you on the Internet and we will track you down and arrest you”.
Authorities said the youngest suspect is 20-year-old Robert Cohen of Magnolia. The oldest is Alfred Suez, 72, of North Wildwood.
Charged in Burlington County are Adam Farrington, 37, of Cinnaminson; Robert H. Magrann, 51, of Maple Shade; and Nicholas Puppo, 40, of Bordentown City.
Also charged is Robert Esau Rios-Osorio, 27, of Vineland. Additional charges could be added during the investigation, Porrino said. It said a backup system doubled the number of images on DeFay’s computer.
Officials say in most cases, the arrests included the distribution of images and videos depicting children engaged in sexual activities.
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The six-month investigation was dubbed “Operation Statewide” and it snared 40 people for possession and many for distribution of child pornography.
