CAMDEN, N.J. - A Gloucester County, N.J., man was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Camden for allegedly exploiting two minor boys and for possessing, receiving and distributing images of child sex abuse, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Gerrett Conover, 48, of Woolwich Township, N.J., a former Boy Scout troop leader, was charged by complaint in September 2012 with one count of receiving images of child sex abuse over the Internet and has been held in federal custody since that time. Today’s indictment charges two counts of the sexual exploitation of children, 10 counts of the receipt or distribution of images of child pornography and one count of possession of additional images of child pornography.
According to the indictment returned today and other documents filed in this case:
On Sept. 16, 2012, Conover was intercepted at the United States border coming from Canada into New York and was found in possession of a laptop computer containing images of child pornography. Federal agents obtained a search warrant for Conover’s home in Woolwich Township, and seized various computers and computer related media containing additional images of child sexual abuse, chats and emails.
The count of child exploitation with which Conover is charged is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine per count. Conover faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of distribution of child pornography. The possession count is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Conover will be arraigned on the indictment at a later date.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McClees, with the assistance of HSI Offices in Boston, Mass.; Messina, N.Y.; and Los Angeles and San Bernardino, Calif.; and Customs and Border Protection in Ogdensburg, N.Y., with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Carrig of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
The charge and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Jerome M. Brown Esq., Philadelphia
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
