Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that a former bus driver in Sussex County who transported grade school students was sentenced to prison today for distributing explicit images of minors online. He was arrested in 2016 in “Operation Safeguard,” a sweep conducted by the Division of Criminal Justice, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the New Jersey State Police.
Officials say Eugene Triston, 58, of Stanhope, a former bus driver for the Sparta School District, was sentenced today to five years in state prison by Superior Court Judge William McGovern in Sussex County. Triston pleaded guilty last year to a second-degree charge of distribution of explicit images of minors. He will be required to register as an offender under Megan’s Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life.
In pleading guilty, Triston admitted that he knowingly used file-sharing software to make multiple files containing explicit images of minors readily available for any other user to download from a designated “shared folder” on his computer.
During Operation Safeguard, special agents of ICE Homeland Security Investigations, detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice, and detectives of the New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit monitored several online file-sharing networks that are popular with offenders who download and trade explicit images of minors. Using advanced technology, the investigators searched for digital “fingerprints” of known explicit images of minors and search terms used by such offenders.
Through these and other methods, they identified New Jersey residents who were downloading explicit images of minors and making it available to others in “shared folders” on their computers.
According to authorities, Triston was arrested on Feb. 10, 2016, when investigators conducting Operation Safeguard executed a search warrant at his residence. A detective of the Division of Criminal Justice previously had identified a computer that was sharing explicit images of minors and an agent of HSI downloaded 27 videos and images of explicit images of minors from a shared folder on the computer, including videos of very young minors being sexually assaulted. The computer was associated with an IP address that was traced to Triston.
During the search, investigators seized a computer belonging to Triston that contained numerous files of explicit images of minors. They also learned that Triston viewed explicit images of minors on breaks between bus runs, which included driving elementary school students. The Byram Police Department assisted in the operation. A full forensic examination of the computer by HSI revealed approximately 150 files of explicit images of minors.
Attorney General Grewal and Director Allende urged anyone who has information about the distribution of explicit images of minors on the internet – or who suspects improper contact by persons communicating with minors via the internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children – to contact the Tipline at 888-648-6007.