Forty men including at least one from every county in New Jersey have been charged with possession of Explicit Images of Minors, New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino announced today at the State Police Technology Center.
The six-month investigation, called Operation Statewide, was a proactive effort coordinated by the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
Of the 40 arrested, 37 have been charged with distribution of these images as well as possession. A number of seized computers each had more than 1,000 juvenile pornographic images and videos stored on them—one had more than 76,000 files.
The Operation Statewide law enforcement team, led by New Jersey State Police detectives, followed the digital fingerprint of known images of child explicit images of minorsas they were being sent and received over file sharing networks to specific computers. Internet addresses were traced to street addresses and detectives from partnering agencies knocked on the doors of many surprised defendants, one of whom was in the process of downloading child explicit images of minorsimages.
Three years ago, Governor Christie signed a bill that strengthened New Jersey’s Explicit Images of Minors laws, bringing them closer in line with federal laws. The new laws include enhanced penalties based upon the number of items of Explicit Images of Minors (images or videos) possessed or distributed. The new law requires a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence without possibility of parole for defendants convicted of distributing 25 or more items of Explicit Images of Minors.
The new law also creates a presumption of imprisonment for defendants convicted of possessing 100 or more items of Explicit Images of Minors, making state prison a near certainty even for some first time offenders charged in this investigation.
Twenty of those arrested have already been charged with possession of 100 or more items based on on-site forensic previews of computer media. Those defendants, should they be convicted, will be subject to that statutory presumption of imprisonment. Nine men were so far charged with distributing 25 or more images based on the same previews. They could be facing a mandatory minimum of five years without parole in state prison if convicted, and thorough forensic examinations of seized media could place more defendants in this category.
State troopers executed a search warrant and arrested John Defay, Jr., 47 of Pitman, Gloucester County, on July 13. A preview of his computer equipment uncovered the largest collection of Explicit Images of Minors found in Operation Statewide. Detectives found more than 76,000 files with a complete backup system, which doubled the files in his possession. A large number of these were video files. This speaks to the amount of this material available on the web. Defay was charged with distribution and possession commensurate with the amount of material he stored or transmitted.
Shawn Bovasso, 47 of Howell, Monmouth County, had over 5,000 files of Explicit Images of Minors at the time of his arrest by detectives on July 15th. Troopers also found and seized two assault weapons from his residence. The assault weapons are being examined by firearms to determine if charges are appropriate.
Those arrested were from 20 to 72 years old.
The defendants include a former teacher who taught in Delran, Bristol Twp., Pa., and Philadelphia; factory workers; an accountant; computer professionals; construction workers; salesmen; food service workers; and a custodian in the Long Branch School District.
A large percentage are unemployed and two men are undocumented non-citizens.