By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Ocean County announced that Andrew Anastasio, 60, of Jackson Township, was sentenced by the Honorable Kimarie Rahill, J.S.C., to five years in New Jersey State Prison - with a three-year period of parole ineligibility - as a result of his previously entered guilty plea to Distribution of Explicit Images Involving Minors.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer stated Anastasio will also be subject to the terms of Megan’s Law and Parole Supervision for Life. Anastasio pled guilty to the charge before Judge Rahill on April 11, 2024.
Officials said this investigation was the result of a referral from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
The ICAC Task Force received cyber-tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual was sending/receiving images of minors from the internet, officials say.
According to officials, an investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit identified an IP address associated with a Jackson Township residence as the location from which the individual was accessing images of minors from the internet.
That individual was ultimately identified as Anastasio, authorities say.
Officials stated that on September 23, 2021, Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit and Jackson Township Police Department SWAT Team executed a court-authorized search warrant on Anastasio’s residence.
An initial forensic examination of Anastasio’s laptop computer by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit led to the discovery of several items of Explicit Images Involving Minors, according to officials.
Officials said Anastasio was taken into custody at his residence without incident.
He was transported to the Ocean County Jail and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform, officials say.