TRENTON
- Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced
that a Holmdel man has been convicted at trial
of distributing child pornography over the
Internet. The defendant was among more than
three dozen people arrested in 2007 as part
of “Operation Silent Shield,”
an investigation by the New Jersey State Police
that targeted offenders who distributed child
pornography over the Internet.
John
A. Dziegiel, 59, of Holmdel, was convicted
late yesterday afternoon by a Monmouth County
jury of two counts of second-degree distribution
of child pornography and one count of fourth-degree
possession of child pornography following
a three-week trial before Superior Court
Judge Richard W. English. The charges were
contained in a Sept. 30, 2008 indictment
obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice
Computer Analysis & Technology Unit.
The case was tried by Deputy Attorneys General
Andrew C. Fried and Jillian Carpenter.
The
jury found by its verdict that Dziegiel
knowingly used Internet file sharing software
to make multiple files containing child
pornography readily available for any other
user to download from a designated “shared
folder” on his computer between July
and September 2007. On Sept. 27, 2007, members
of the New Jersey State Police executed
a search warrant at Dziegiel’s home
and seized his computer, which contained
hundreds of files of child pornography.
“Each
person who views and shares computer files
of child pornography supports and perpetuates
the victimization of the children who are
tortured to create these loathsome materials,”
said Attorney General Chiesa. “These
are not victimless crimes. In fact, the
victims of these crimes are among our most
vulnerable, and we want offenders to know
that we have detectives patrolling the Internet
who will uncover and arrest them. As this
verdict demonstrates, we are prepared to
prosecute them to the full extent of the
law.”
“In
2010, we secured a landmark ruling from
the Appellate Division of State Superior
Court affirming that a defendant can be
convicted of distribution of child pornography
for knowingly storing images in a peer-to-peer
file sharing network on the Internet,”
said Stephen J. Taylor, Director of the
Division of Criminal Justice. “Armed
with that decision, we will continue to
partner with the State Police and other
law enforcement agencies to aggressively
prosecute those who use the Internet to
distribute images of children being exploited
in this horrendous manner.”
Judge
English scheduled sentencing for Dziegiel
for June 22. He set bail at $50,000 for
Dziegiel
pending sentencing. Second-degree crimes
carry a sentence of five to 10 years in
state prison and a $150,000 fine.
Operation
Silent Shield, led by the New Jersey State
Police Digital Technology Investigations
Unit, targeted offenders who distributed
known images and videos of child pornography
over the Internet. Detectives traced the
senders and receivers of those files who
lived in New Jersey and made more than 40
arrests.
Attorney
General Chiesa urged anyone who has information
about the distribution of child pornography
on the Internet or who suspects improper
contact by unknown persons communicating
with children via the Internet, or possible
exploitation or sexual abuse of children,
to please contact the New Jersey Internet
Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline
at 1-888-648-6007.