By: Yuritza Arroyo
Passaic County authorities announce the arrest of George Robert Moraino, age 66, of Wayne, following an investigation by the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crime Against Children Task Force in conjunction with the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit.
According to officials, Mr. Moraino was arrested on February 22 by members of the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crime Against Children Task Force.
Officials say Mr. Moraino was charged with one count of Endangering the Welfare of Children for possession of explicit images of minors, a crime of the third degree, and one count of Failure to Verify Address, a crime of the third degree.
The sentencing exposure for a third-degree crime is three to five years in New Jersey State Prison.
According to authorities, the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crime Against Children Task Force received information pertaining to images of explicit images of minors being uploaded to a visual search service on the Internet.
Authorities say the visual search service allows users to upload an image to the search engine to find similar images online.
The images uploaded by the reported user depicted children ranging in age from approximately months old to ten years old engaged in sexual acts.
Officials say additional information pertaining to the reported content also assisted detectives with identifying a dwelling in Wayne.
According to officials, utilizing various tools available to law enforcement, detectives identified the individuals associated with the address.
The tenants included an individual identified as George Robert Moraino.
On scene, detectives positively identified the Wayne location as Mr. Moraino's primary residence.
Detectives say Mr. Moraino is presently subject to Megan’s Law registration but allegedly provided a different address for registration purposes.
According to detectives, Mr. Moraino was charged on a warrant complaint and is currently detained at the Passaic County Jail.
The State will be filing a motion for pre-trial detention, which will be heard by a Superior Court Judge on a date and time to be determined by the Court.