Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that a man who had more than 49,000 files of explicit images of minors on his computer was sentenced to state prison today for distributing explicit images of minors. He was arrested in the multi-agency child protection initiative “Operation Safety Net.”
Officials say Callen Kapschock, 56, of Hamilton, a mechanic, was sentenced today to six years in state prison, including three years of parole ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge Peter E. Warshaw Jr. in Mercer County.
Officials say he pleaded guilty on Oct. 15 to second-degree distribution of explicit images of minors. Kapschock will be required to register as an offender under Megan’s Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life.
While monitoring a peer-to-peer file sharing network popular with sex offenders as part of “Operation Safety Net,” detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice downloaded more than 25 files of explicit images of minors from a shared folder at an IP address that was subsequently traced to Kapschock.
Detectives and agents from the Division of Criminal Justice, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, and New Jersey State Police executed a search warrant at Kapschock’s residence and arrested him on Aug. 31, 2017. They seized his desktop computer, which a preview determined contained numerous files of explicit images of minors. The Hamilton Police Department assisted in the operation. A later forensic examination of the computer revealed that it contained more than 49,000 videos and images of explicit images of minors.
Authorities say Kapschock was among 79 predators and explicit images of minors offenders arrested in “Operation Safety Net,” which is led by the New Jersey State Police and includes the Division of Criminal Justice, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, all 21 County Prosecutors’ Offices, and many other state, county and local law enforcement agencies.
Ten alleged predators were arrested, including eight New Jersey men, as well as men in California and Indiana who allegedly tried to have children transported interstate from New Jersey for them to sexually assault.
Attorney General Grewal and Director Allende urged anyone with information about the distribution of explicit images of minors on the internet – or about suspected improper contact by unknown persons communicating with minors via the internet or possible exploitation or abuse of minors – to contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007.