TRENTON –Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that a sex offender from Cape May County who has prior convictions for molesting a 6-year-old boy and possessing hundreds of files of explicit images of minors was sentenced to prison today after pleading guilty to a new explicit images of minors charge.
Officials say Timothy Corwonski, 37, of North Wildwood, N.J., was sentenced to 6 ½ years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Michael J. Donohue in Cape May County. Corwonski pleaded guilty on May 4 to charges of third-degree possession of explicit images of minors and fourth-degree violation of community supervision for life.
He was sentenced to five years in prison on the explicit images of minors charge and 18 months on the violation of community supervision for life charge, with the two sentences to run consecutively. As a result of his arrest in the state case, Corwonski also was charged with violating federal probation stemming from a 2008 federal conviction. He was sentenced in federal court on July 26 to five years in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
Deputy Attorney General Rachael Weeks prosecuted Corwonski and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau. Corwonski was arrested in an investigation led by the New Jersey State Parole Board.
Police arrested Corwonski on Feb. 9, 2018, by the State Parole Board, New Jersey State Police, Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, ICE Homeland Security Investigations, and the North Wildwood Police Department. The arrest followed the execution of a search warrant at his apartment, where investigators found at least 40 files of suspected explicit images of minors on his computer devices.
Investigators had received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about a user who uploaded child pornography to a cloud storage account. The account was linked to an IP address that was traced to Corwonski, who was on federal probation at the time and also subject to parole supervision for life in New Jersey based on prior convictions.
In 2003, Corwonski pleaded guilty in state court to endangering the welfare of a child for fondling a 6-year-old boy while he was sleeping. He was sentenced to four years in state prison and community supervision for life. In 2008, Corwonski was sentenced to six years in federal prison, followed by five years of federal probation, as a result of his guilty plea in federal court to possessing hundreds of files of child pornography on his computers.
“We are committed to protecting children by conducting these cyber investigations targeting child predators and child endangerment offenders who use the internet and social media to commit their crimes,” said Attorney General Grewal. “Corwonski is a case in point that viewing explicit images of minors is often part of a continuum of deviant behavior that may, in some instances, drive other, hands-on sex crimes.”
“Despite prior criminal convictions for molesting a boy and possessing explicit images of minors, Corwonski continued to engage in the sexual exploitation of children by collecting explicit images of minors online,” said Director Veronica Allende of the Division of Criminal Justice. “Through our collaborative investigation, we have ensured that he will serve a lengthy term in prison, where he cannot harm any children.”
“The State Parole Board is pleased to have been a part of this multi-agency investigation that resulted in this prison sentence. Cooperative efforts with other state, county, and municipal agencies serve as a force multiplier resulting in a significant public safety benefit. Our participation in the State Police’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force continues to provide significant positive outcomes for the State Parole Board. We are proud of the efforts of our parole officers and all that took part in the investigation,” said Samuel J. Plumeri Jr., Chairman of the New Jersey State Parole Board.