| TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a Camden County man was sentenced to state prison today for sending numerous images and videos of child pornography via the Internet to an undercover federal agent posing as a mother, in the belief that the “mother” would arrange for a webcam sex show for him in which her 11-year-old daughter would perform oral sex on her father.
Andrew Derrickson, 50, of Lindenwold, was sentenced to seven years in state prison, including 3 ½ years of parole ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge John T. Kelley in Camden County. He pleaded guilty on Jan. 19 to a second-degree charge of distribution of child pornography. The charge was contained in a June 16, 2015 state grand jury indictment. Derrickson will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life.
Deputy Attorney General Denise Grugan prosecuted Derrickson and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau.
Derrickson was indicted in an investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cherry Hill and the Division of Criminal Justice, assisted by the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lindenwold Police Department. The investigation began in early 2014 when HSI initiated an investigation of individuals using Internet chat rooms to exchange child pornography. Derrickson engaged in an online chat with a special agent of HSI who posed as a mother with an 11-year-old daughter. During the chat, Derrickson agreed to send videos and images of child pornography in exchange for the “mother” arranging a webcam show of her daughter performing oral sex on her father.
On four occasions, Derrickson sent child pornography to the undercover agent, sending a total of approximately 75 videos and images of child pornography, including numerous images of prepubescent girls being sexually assaulted. He engaged in additional online chats with the agent in which he continued to request that she deliver the promised webcam sex show involving her daughter. Derrickson used a screen name during the chats, but investigators traced the Internet Protocol address associated with the name to Derrickson’s house in Lindenwold, where the investigating agencies executed a search warrant on Oct. 9, 2014 and arrested Derrickson.
“This case illustrates how far these traders of child pornography will go to obtain more materials and their utter disregard for the fact that they motivate new sexual assaults on innocent victims through their conduct,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “By repeatedly soliciting the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl and distributing numerous files of child pornography in the process, Derrickson proved that he is a dangerous predator who belongs behind bars.”
“Working with our federal and state partners, we’ll continue to use our strong state child pornography statute to put predators like Derrickson in prison,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We want these offenders to know that we’re on their file-sharing networks and in their chat rooms, and we’re prepared to prosecute them to the full extent of the law.”
“HSI has taken a very aggressive stance against the producers and consumers of child pornography in our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Terence S. Opiola of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Newark. “Those who would violate the most innocent among us should know that local officers, federal agents and prosecutors at all levels are standing shoulder to shoulder to hunt these predators down to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
A forensic examination of Derrickson’s computer conducted at the FBI’s Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory in Hamilton revealed approximately 227 images and 925 videos of suspected child pornography. All of the videos and a majority of the images were in a designated “shared folder” on Derrickson’s computer, where they were readily available for any other user to download using file-sharing software. The investigation revealed that, from January through September 2014, Derrickson distributed in excess of 100 suspected images and videos of child pornography to other Skype Messenger users.
Deputy Attorney General Grugan presented the case to the state grand jury for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau. The investigation was conducted for the Division of Criminal Justice by Deputy Attorney General Grugan, Detective Richard DaSilva Jr., Detective Abraham Aquino and Sgt. Thomas Turley, under the supervision of Lt. Lisa Shea, Deputy Chief of Detectives William Fredrick, former Deputy Attorney General Kenneth Sharpe, and Deputy Attorney General Michael Monahan, who is Chief of the Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau.
Acting Attorney General Hoffman commended ICE Homeland Security Investigations Cherry Hill for their work on the investigation. Acting Attorney General Hoffman also thanked the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lindenwold Police Department for their assistance.
Acting Attorney General Hoffman and Director Honig urged anyone with information about distribution of child pornography on the Internet – or about suspected improper contact by unknown persons communicating with children via the Internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children – to please contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007. #### |
