A joint state and federal investigation resulted in the arrests of 14 New Jersey men who allegedly distributed child pornography on the Internet.
Authorities believe that the suspects used an online file-sharing network to distribute child pornography videos.
The men were arrested from September 30 to October 24. The suspects reside in Bridgeton, Cape May Court House, Egg Harbor, Hamilton, Lower Township, Millville, Pennsauken, Somerset, Trenton, Wrightstown, and Woodstown.
The investigation, named “Operation Predator Alert”, included both federal and state agencies. The investigation was prompted by New Jersey’s new child pornography law, which was signed in August 2013. According to the Director of the Division of Criminal Justice, the operation was named “Operation Predator Alert” because law enforcement is serious about “sounding the alarm about deviants who troll the Internet for images of children being raped and tortured.”
In a press conference today, the acting NJ Attorney General credited the tough law with giving law enforcement the means to go after sexual predators that victimize children.
The NJ child pornography law is intended to curb the distribution of child pornography through online file sharing. The law imposes strict liability on anyone who makes child pornography files available for downloading. If the men arrested as part of “Operation Predator Alert” are convicted of distributing 25 or more child pornography files, they could each be sentenced to as many as five (5) years in New Jersey State Prison. Additionally, the NJ child pornography law requires offenders to meet Megan’s Law registration requirements for life.
To learn more, read the NewYork.CBSLocal.com article entitled “14 Arrested for Alleged Possession, Distribution of Child Pornography in N.J.”
