NEWARK, N.J.- A Union County, N.J., man today admitted distributing images of child sexual abuse over the Internet, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Andrew Johnson, 30, of Cranford, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography.
According to documents filed in the case and statements in court:
Johnson admitted that on Dec. 7, 2012, he made available for others to download via an online peer-to-peer file-sharing network images and videos of child pornography that were stored on his home computer. An undercover law enforcement agent successfully downloaded from Johnson one image and 14 videos of child pornography via the file sharing network.
As part of his guilty plea, Johnson agreed to forfeit the computers and computer accessories he used to commit the offense. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
The count of distributing child pornography to which Johnson pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is currently scheduled for April 22, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark; and the Cranford Police Department with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Alfonzo Walsman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Lorraine Gauli-Rufo Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
