An Ocean County man admitted Tuesday to having more than 36,000 videos and images of child pornography on his computer devices.
Anthony White, 31, of Lakewood, faces six years in prison with three years of parole ineligibility as part of the plea agreement.
It was one of the largest collections of child pornography ever seized by state law enforcement, according to Col. Patrick Callahan, acting superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. He referred to the collection as the result of White's "twisted obsession."
White was one of 40 men arrested in 2016 as part of a child pornography sweep by the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
White admitted he knowingly used file-sharing software to make 25 or more files of child pornography readily available for any other user to download from a “shared folder” on his computer.
He also admitted to trying to reproduce images of child pornography that he previously downloaded. While monitoring a peer-to-peer file-sharing network popular with sex offenders, a detective of the New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit downloaded 38 videos and images of child pornography from a shared folder at a computer IP address later traced to White.
White was arrested July 20, 2016.
“Each time we arrest an offender like White with thousands upon thousands of files of child pornography, it highlights the alarming scope of this problem and the number of children who are cruelly victimized and re-victimized in the creation and distribution of these abhorrent materials,” said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. “This plea reflects our resolve to use New Jersey’s tough child pornography laws to seek lengthy prison terms for those who participate in these crimes.”
The operation's arrests included defendants in every county in the state.
“As long as offenders perpetuate the sexual exploitation of children by viewing and sharing these materials online, we’ll continue to patrol the internet with our law enforcement partners to arrest them,” said Director Elie Honig, of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We must continue to deliver the message that these are serious crimes that carry serious penalties.”
During the operation, investigators monitored Peer to Peer, or P2P, file-sharing networks popular with child pornography offenders. Such networks play a major role in the distribution of child pornography, functioning in the same manner as websites used for privately sharing music or movies, according to a release from Grewal's office. Because 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.
Grewal and Honig urged anyone with information about 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 contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007.
