FREEHOLD – A summer-long operation focused on online consumers of child pornography resulted in the arrest of 14 individuals during “Operation School’s Out.” The operation was carried out by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit and Monmouth County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force between July 20, and August 31, 2017. Among those arrested is a college professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, a retired computer scientist who previously held federal government contracts, and an electronics technician announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Operation School’s Out was designed to reduce online threats to Monmouth County children during one of their most vulnerable times – summer vacation – and to decrease the market for child sexual exploitation by focusing on those individuals seeking out and trafficking in child pornographic materials.
“It is incumbent on everyone, particularly those of us in law enforcement, to protect children from harm and exploitation. To that end, Operation School’s Out caught individuals who shamelessly viewed and shared depraved images of children being sexually abused,” Gramiccioni said. “Our successful operation demonstrates the value of our partnerships with the local law enforcement agencies that help our ICAC Task Force continue to have a vigilant and watchful eye for this extremely damaging criminal activity.”
Assisting in Operation School’s Out were members of the New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit, New Jersey Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, New Jersey ICAC Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Bureau of Investigations, New Jersey State Parole Board, and the Asbury Park, Belmar, Eatontown, Freehold Township, Hazlet Township, Holmdel Township, Howell Township, Keansburg, Keyport, Long Branch, Manalapan Township, Marlboro Township, Middletown Township, Neptune Township, Ocean Township, Red Bank, Sea Bright, Tinton Falls, and Wall Township police departments.
The following individuals were arrested as a result of Operation School’s Out:
· **John G. Fenton, 55, of Port Monmouth Road** in Middletown, a commercial oil delivery driver, was arrested on August 4, 2017, following the investigation of a CyberTip forwarded by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which revealed he uploaded child pornography images to Chatstep. Fenton is charged with one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Distribution of Child Pornography) and one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography).
· **Henry Gavilanez, 27, Monmouth Place in Long Branch**, an unemployed insurance salesman, was arrested on August 31, 2017, following an investigation which revealed that he used Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file-sharing software to make child pornography images and videos available to others online. Gavilanez is charged with one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Distribution of Child Pornography) and one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography). Gavilanez is represented by Edward C. Bertucio, Esq., of Eatontown.
· **Emir Gomez, 18, of Route 35 in Eatontown**, a landscaper, was arrested on August 17, 2017, following the investigation of a NCMEC CyberTip which revealed he maintained images and videos of child pornography in his Dropbox cloud storage account to which he provided others with access. Gomez is charged with one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Distribution of Child Pornography) and one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography). Gomez is represented by Allison Friedman, Esq., of Freehold.
· **Paul King, 62, of Ocean Avenue in Belmar**, a professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, was arrested on August 16, 2017, following an investigation which revealed he used P2P file-sharing software to make child pornography images and videos available to others online. King is charged with one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Distribution of Child Pornography) and one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography). King is represented by Daniel Petersen, Esq., of Red Bank.
· **Douglas Masto, 70, of Quaker Street in Wall**, a self-employed business manager, was arrested on August 10, 2017, following an investigation which revealed that he used P2P file-sharing software to make child pornography images and videos available to others online. Masto was charged with one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Distribution of Child Pornography) and one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography). Masto is represented by James Doyle, Esq., of Hackensack.
· ** Terrance McCuen, 53, of North Ditmar Drive** in the Wanamassa section of Ocean Township, a construction site superintendent, was arrested on August 2, 2017, following an investigation which revealed that he used P2P file-sharing software to make child pornography images and videos available to others online. McCuen was charged with one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Distribution of Child Pornography). McCuen was also charged with disorderly person Possession of fewer than 50 Grams of Marijuana. McCuen is represented by Michael Pappa, Esq., of Hazlet.
· **Alan Raczek, 27, of Meadow Drive in Tinton Falls**, a grocery store cashier, was arrested on July 28, 2017, following an investigation which revealed he possessed numerous items of child pornography. Raczek was charged with one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography). Raczek is represented by Daniel Petersen, Esq., of Red Bank.
· **Rodrigo Roldan, 65, of Coral Way** in Neptune Township, a retiree who holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Colombia, was arrested on July 20, 2017, following an investigation which revealed that he used P2P file-sharing software to make child pornography images and videos available to others online. Roldan was charged with one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Distribution of Child Pornography) and one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography). Roldan is represented by Raymond Santiago, Esq., of Freehold.
· ** Eric C. Scherzer, 38, of Benton Avenue**, of the Leonardo section of Middletown, an electronics technician, was arrested on August 23, 2017, following an investigation which revealed that he used P2P file-sharing software to make child pornography images and videos available to others online. Scherzer was charged with one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Distribution of Child Pornography) and one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography). Scherzer was also charged with disorderly person Possession of fewer than 50 Grams of Marijuana. Scherzer is represented by Edward C. Bertucio, Esq., of Eatontown.
· **James Simmons, 69, of Harding Road** in Freehold Township, a retired computer scientist, and former federal government contractor, was arrested on July 26, 2017, following an investigation which revealed that he used P2P file-sharing software to make child pornography images and videos available to others online. Simmons was charged with one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Distribution of Child Pornography) and one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography). Simmons is represented by Sarah Surgent, Esq., of Freehold.
· **Frederick Simzer, 30, of Monique Circle**, in Hazlet, a swimming pool maintenance worker, was arrested on August 18, 2017, following the investigation of a NCMEC CyberTip which revealed that he maintained images and videos of child pornography in the cloud storage account associated with his cellular phone service. Simzer also possessed numerous items of child pornography on a personal electronic device. Simzer was charged with one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography). Simzer is represented by Edwin Wu, Esq., of Freehold.
· **Jude I. Taylor, 38, of Bridge Avenue, Red Bank**, a landscaper, was arrested on July 25, 2017, following an investigation which revealed that he used P2P file-sharing software to download child pornography images and videos. Taylor was charged with one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography). Taylor is represented by Kevin Wigenton, Esq., of Red Bank.
· **Martin Velazquez-Rodriguez, 52**, of 1st Avenue in Asbury Park, a factory worker, was arrested on August 30, 2017, following an investigation which revealed that he used P2P file-sharing software to download child pornography videos. Velazquez-Rodriguez was charged with one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography). Velazquez-Rodriguez is represented by Kathryn Sylvester, Esq., of Freehold.
· **Dale E. Williams, Jr., 46, of Leonard Avenu**e in Middletown, a construction worker, was arrested on July 21, 2017, following an investigation which revealed that he used P2P file-sharing software to download child pornography images and videos. Williams was charged with one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Pornography). Williams is represented by Richard Lomurro, Esq., of Freehold.
All the defendants were released on the conditions that they have no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18 and not use the internet. Roldan has the added conditions of surrendering his passport and reporting bi-weekly to a court officer.
If convicted of the second degree Endangering charge, a defendant will face a maximum sentence of 10 years in New Jersey state prison, Megan’s Law, and parole supervision for life. If convicted of the third degree Endangering charge, a defendant will face a maximum sentence of five years in state prison and parole supervision for life. A conviction for disorderly person Possession of Marijuana exposes a defendant to a maximum sentence of six months incarceration.
All the cases are assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Margaret C. Koping, with the exception of the Fenton case which is assigned to Assistant Prosecutor Martha Nye.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial in which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.