NJ man sentenced to 41 months in prison for possessing child pornography

NEWARK, N.J. – A Morris County, N.J., man was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for possessing child pornography on two laptop computers at his residence. The sentence is the result of an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Steve Goni, 37, of Mine Hill, N.J., was sentenced Thursday in federal court to 41 months in prison. He previously pleaded guilty Oct. 22, 2012, to possession of child pornography.

According to court documents, in June 2011, HSI special agents executed a search warrant at Goni's residence. They determined that Goni's laptop computers contained more than 600 images and multiple videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, which appeared to have been downloaded from the Internet.

When interviewed by HSI special agents, Goni admitted accessing and observing websites offering child pornography. He also admitted that child pornography was downloaded onto his computer.

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.