NJ man sentenced to 4 years in prison for possessing child pornography

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to four years in state prison Wednesday for possessing more than 150 images and videos of child pornography on his computer. 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.

Cesar Urena Valverde, 31, of Trenton, was initially arrested Oct. 22, 2013, when HSI special agents and detectives executed a search warrant at his home and seized computers and hard drives containing images and videos of child pornography. Valverde pleaded guilty Sept. 17, to possession of child pornography and was sentenced Wednesday by Superior Court Judge Pedro J. Jimenez Jr. in Mercer County. 

"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 John 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."

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, 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 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 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

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. 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.