TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
that three men were charged today in separate
state grand jury indictments for allegedly
distributing child pornography over the
Internet. The defendants were among more
than three dozen people arrested last October
as part of “Operation Silent Shield,”
an investigation that targeted offenders
who distributed known images and videos
of child pornography via the Internet.
A
state grand jury indictment charged Thomas
Palmer, 26, of Waretown, with two counts
of second-degree distribution of child pornography
and one count of fourth-degree possession
of child pornography. The indictment alleges
that between August and October 2007, Palmer
knowingly used Internet file sharing software
to make multiple files containing child
pornography readily available for any other
user to download from a designated “shared
folder” on his computer. A search
warrant executed by the New Jersey State
Police on Oct. 3, 2007 allegedly revealed
a dozen movie clips containing child pornography
on Palmer’s computer.
A
second indictment charged John A. Dziegiel,
56, of Holmdel, with two counts of second-degree
distribution of child pornography and one
count of fourth-degree possession of child
pornography. The indictment charges that
between July and September 2007, Dziegiel
knowingly used Internet file sharing software
to make multiple files containing child
pornography readily available for any other
user to download from a designated “shared
folder” on his computer. On Sept.
27, 2007, members of the New Jersey State
Police executed a search warrant at Dziegiel’s
home. The search allegedly revealed at least
200 instances of child pornography on Dziegiel’s
computer.
A
separate indictment charged Keith Conroy,
43, of Abesecon, with two counts of second-degree
distribution of child pornography and one
count of fourth-degree possession of child
pornography. It is charged that between
July and October 2007, Conroy knowingly
used Internet file sharing software to make
multiple videos containing child pornography
readily available for any other user to
download from a designated “shared
folder” on his computer. A search
warrant executed on Oct. 4, 2007 by the
New Jersey State Police allegedly revealed
at least three videos depicting child pornography
on Conroy’s computer.
The
Digital Technology Investigation Unit of
the New Jersey State Police coordinated
the investigations. Deputy Attorney General
Valerie Noto presented the Palmer case to
the state grand jury, and Deputy Attorney
Mark Murtha presented the Dziegiel and Conroy
cases to the state grand jury.
The
indictments are merely accusations and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Second-degree crimes carry a maximum
sentence of 10 years in state prison and
a $150,000 fine, while fourth-degree crimes
carry a maximum sentence of 18 months in
prison and a $10,000 fine.
#
# # |