New Jersey man pleads guilty to distributing images of child sexual abuse

TRENTON, N.J. — A Sussex County man pleaded guilty Friday to distributing child pornography. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. The guilty plea is the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office.

According to court documents, Albert Rose, 55, of Hampton, admitted distributing images of child pornography via email using a computer located in his residence in February 2010. He also admitted to possessing more than 600 images of child pornography on his computer, which was seized from his residence in February 2012. A portion of those images depicted child sexual abuse. Rose was previously charged by criminal complaint with distribution of child pornography in September 2011and has been free on bail since his arrest.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 2.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or its online resource for reporting child sexual exploitation.

HSI is a founding member and the U.S. representative of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.