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For Immediate Release: For Further Information:
November 12, 2014

Office of The Attorney General
- John J. Hoffman, Acting Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
- Elie Honig, Director
Media Inquiries-
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791
 

Citizen Inquiries-

609-984-5828
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Trenton Man Sentenced to Prison for Possessing More Than 100 Images and Videos of Child Pornography on His Computers
Charged by Attorney General and ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Operation Predator Alert
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TRENTON Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a Trenton man was sentenced to state prison today for possessing more than 100 images and videos of child pornography on computer equipment in his residence. He was one of 28 defendants charged in two offender sweeps under Operation Predator Alert, a joint operation by the Division of Criminal Justice and ICE Homeland Security Investigations that targeted offenders in New Jersey who used a file-sharing network to download and distribute child pornography, including child rape videos, on the Internet.

Cesar Urena Valverde, 31, of Trenton, was sentenced to four years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Pedro J. Jimenez Jr. in Mercer County. He was arrested on Oct. 22, 2013, when detectives and agents executed a search warrant at his home on Liberty Street and seized computers and hard drives containing 152 images and videos of child pornography. Valverde pleaded guilty on Sept. 17 to possession of child pornography under New Jersey’s new child pornography statute. The tough new law signed by Governor Christie in 2013 calls for a presumptive sentence of three to five years in prison for possessing 100 or more computer files of child pornography. Distribution of 25 or more files of child pornography carries a mandatory prison sentence of five years without parole under the new law.

Deputy Attorney General Lilianne Daniel prosecuted Valverde and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau. Federal immigration authorities have filed a detainer for Valverde, who is from Costa Rica, and he will be subject to deportation after serving his sentence.

“We’re going to make maximum use of New Jersey’s tough new child pornography law to put offenders like Valverde in prison,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “Possession of child pornography previously was a fourth-degree offense, but this new law with its stricter penalties recognizes that offenders who share child pornography on the Internet directly drive the horrific sexual abuse of children, and they re-victimize those children each time they view these loathsome images.”

“Our new law recognizes the dark side of our digital world, where child pornography is shared to a mass audience of online offenders, motivating child predators to commit new assaults on innocent children,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “Those who amass and distribute significant quantities of child pornography on the Internet will face a presumption of imprisonment, as Valverde learned, and tough mandatory minimum sentences.”

“Distribution of child pornography steals the innocence of children and destroys lives,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge John P. Woods. “Criminals everywhere should take notice that HSI special agents along with our state and local partners are actively working to identify and disrupt the trade of these illegal images, and to seek prosecution of the criminals who produce and possess them.”

Valverde was charged during the first round of 14 arrests in Operation Predator Alert, which were announced in October 2013. Fourteen additional arrests were announced in July 2014, bringing the total number of defendants charged to 28.

In conducting Operation Predator Alert, special agents of HSI monitored an online file-sharing network that is popular with offenders who download and trade child pornography. Using advanced technology, the agents searched for telltale digital “fingerprints” of known child pornography, as well as search terms used by those who download and share child pornography. Through these and other methods, they identified New Jersey residents, including Valverde, who were downloading child pornography and making child pornography available to others in “shared folders” on their computers. The files included videos showing pre-pubescent boys and girls being raped or being coerced into performing sexual acts on themselves or others. The Division of Criminal Justice obtained arrest warrants, which they executed with HSI and numerous other law enforcement agencies.

The file-sharing networks used by offenders to distribute child pornography operate in the same manner as websites used for privately sharing music or movies. Those in possession of the illegal images can make them available on computers that they control for others to download. Because many of these videos and photos of child pornography keep recirculating, they result in the perpetual re-victimization of the children who were sexually assaulted or abused to produce them.

The New Jersey State Police, Trenton Police Department, Hamilton Police Department and Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office were among the partners that executed search warrants with the lead agencies and provided other valuable investigative assistance during Operation Predator Alert.

Special agents for the ICE Homeland Security Investigations Cherry Hill and Newark Offices conducted Operation Predator Alert II under the supervision of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees. It was supervised and conducted for the Division of Criminal Justice by Supervising Deputy Attorney General Michael Monahan, who is Chief of the Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau, Supervising Deputy Attorney General Kenneth Sharpe, who is Deputy Bureau Chief, Lt. Lisa Shea and Detective Sgt. Thomas Turley; Deputy Attorneys General Jillian Carpenter, Lilianne Daniel, Denise Grugan, Naju Lathia, Marie McGovern and Anand Shah; Detectives Abraham Aquino, Richard DaSilva, Cheryl Smith, Kimberly Allen, Matthew Burd, William Jett, Ryan Kirsh, Suzanna Lopez, Jessica Maracacci, Heather Pittman, Robert Rosa, Katelyn Sake, Andrew Shrader, and Danielle Terracianno; and Executive Assistant Cynthia Ronan and Administrative Assistant Lori Pannone. It was supervised and conducted for the State Police by Detective Sgt. Christopher DeAngelis, Detective Sgt. Keith Young, and Detectives Christopher Camm, Brian Kearns, Brett Munch and Joe Santamaria.

Acting Attorney General Hoffman and Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice urged anyone with information about the distribution of child pornography on the Internet – or about suspected 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.

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