New Jersey man sentenced for distributing child pornography
TRENTON, N.J. — A Mercer County man was sentenced to five years in state prison Friday for distributing child pornography. The sentencing follows an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice.
Superior Court Judge in Mercer County, Timothy P. Lydon sentenced Celalletti Koc, 27, aka Steve, of Hamilton, New Jersey, to five years in state prison, including two and a half years of parole ineligibility. Koc pleaded guilty on Nov. 6, 2014, to distributing child pornography. Koc will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.
“Today’s prison sentence is fitting for someone who robbed children of their innocence by freely trading the illegal images with predators over the Internet,” said John P. Woods, acting special agent in charge of HSI Newark. “Some predators mistakenly believe they can hide behind a computer screen and keyboard, but I can assure the public that we have computer-savvy special agents and the technology to find them.”
“Sharing child pornography online directly motivates the predators who torture and exploit innocent children to create this filth, and it perpetually re-victimizes the children involved,” said Acting Attorney General John Hoffman. “By putting these offenders in prison, we protect children and send a strong deterrent message that this is a very serious crime with very serious consequences.”
“With major sweeps like Operation Predator Alert, we make the maximum use of our law enforcement partnerships and our technological capabilities to lock up those who participate in this vile network of child pornography producers, distributors and users,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We will continue to make these operations a top priority.”
According to court documents, HSI special agents 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 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 provided assistance with the investigation.
This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. 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.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.
Updated: