 |
 |
|
|
Post
a comment. View latest comments.
NEW BRUNSWICK — A 13- year-old city boy was among three people arrested Friday as State Police continued their sweep of suspects in the ongoing investigation of Internet trafficking in child pornography.
On Thursday, a statewide dragnet collared more than 40 people — including two
Middlesex County residents — for possessing or trafficking in scenes depicting
sex abuse against children ages 4 to 9.
If convicted, those adults charged could face up to 10 years in prison.
The arrests Thursday were announced by state Attorney General Anne Milgram, who noted some defendants used social-networking Web sites.
State Police spokesman Stephen Jones said the 13-year-old was released to the custody the teen's parents Friday following his arrest. Jones said he was unsure where the boy was arrested.
Also charged Friday were Charles Flynn, 53, of South Bound Brook, and Joseph Toscano, 37, of Allentown in Monmouth County, Jones said.
The 13-year-old was the youngest of the people arrested. Four juveniles — including a 14-year-old from Voorhees — were among those picked up in the sweep on Thursday.
Among those arrested Thursday were Central Jersey residents Peter Gelesky, a 51-year-old referee of girls' high-school volleyball games from Avenel, and Luis Rosado, a 28-year-old Middlesex deli owner.
Those nabbed also include a security officer, a 71-year-old retiree and a handful of students, including a 17-year-old from Somerset County.
Jones said Friday that there will be "a few more" arrests "but not many" in this particular sweep.
He said the investigation will continue and "we will do more arrests as evidence becomes available."
Milgram said some of the child victims are Americans, though the videos appear to have been created "all over the world."
"It is impossible to sleep at night when you view them," Milgram said of the videos. "They are a horrific thing. They include graphic rape scenes against children."
She added later that "We do know the identities of many of these children."
"They (the children in the videos) are being tortured," State Police Maj. James Fallon, who oversaw the investigation, said Thursday.
"Many who have sexually assaulted children started down that road with child porn," State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes said in a prepared statement Thursday. "This operation places a roadblock in their path."