Armando S. Nortez Jr., 30, of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., was sentenced today to three years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Bernard E. DeLury Jr. in Atlantic County. He pleaded guilty on Jan. 11 to a second-degree charge of distributing child pornography. Nortez will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law. At the time of his arrest in June 2014, Nortez was employed as a school bus driver in Mays Landing. Deputy Attorney General Denise Grugan prosecuted Nortez and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau.

In pleading guilty, Nortez admitted that prior to his arrest on June 25, 2014, he knowingly used Internet file-sharing software to make multiple files of child pornography readily available for any other user to download from a designated “shared folder” on his computer. The investigating agencies executed a search warrant at Nortez’s home and seized his laptop computer. A forensic examination of the computer at the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory revealed a folder containing 87 videos of child pornography, including videos showing the rape and sexual abuse of prepubescent children.

“Offenders who view and distribute child pornography participate in the perpetual re-victimization of innocent children and motivate new acts of horrific abuse by those who produce these vile materials,” said Acting Attorney General Lougy. “We want everyone who takes part in the free trade of these repulsive materials on the Internet to know that prison is the penalty they will face.”

“Sweeps like Operation Predator Alert where we catch many offenders in our dragnet are the best way to deter those involved with child pornography and related offenses,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We want those who use the Internet for these depraved crimes to know that the next person they encounter online could as easily be a member of law enforcement as another pedophile.”

“People like Nortez who distribute images of children being sexually abused and exploited need to be found and removed from our society,” said Special Agent in Charge Terence S. Opiola of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Newark. “Through partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies, HSI will continue to vigorously investigate cases such as this one.”

During Operation Predator Alert, special agents of HSI monitored an online file-sharing network that is popular with offenders who download and trade child pornography. Using advanced technology, the agents searched for telltale digital “fingerprints” of known child pornography, as well as search terms used by those who download and share child pornography. Through these and other methods, they identified New Jersey residents who were downloading child pornography and making child pornography available to others in “shared folders” on their computers. The files included videos showing pre-pubescent boys and girls being raped or being coerced into performing sexual acts on themselves or others. The Division of Criminal Justice obtained arrest warrants, which they executed with HSI and numerous other law enforcement agencies.

The file-sharing networks used by offenders to distribute child pornography operate in the same manner as websites used for privately sharing music or movies. Those in possession of the illegal images can make them available on computers that they control for others to download. Because many of these videos and photos of child pornography keep recirculating, they result in the perpetual re-victimization of the children who were sexually assaulted or abused to produce them.

Deputy Attorney General Grugan, Detective Tiffany Lenhart and retired Detective Sgt. Thomas Turley handled the Nortez case for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau.

Acting Attorney General Lougy commended the special agents of the Cherry Hill and Newark Offices of ICE Homeland Security Investigations who conducted Operation Predator Alert. He also commended the many detectives and attorneys who conducted Operation Predator Alert for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General Michael A. Monahan, who is Bureau Chief, former Deputy Bureau Chief Kenneth Sharpe, Detective Sgt. Turley, Lt. Lisa A. Shea and Deputy Chief of Detectives William Fredrick.

Acting Attorney General Lougy also thanked the many other agencies that participated in Operation Predator Alert, including the New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit, New Jersey State Police Buena Vista, Port Norris, Red Lion and Woodstown Stations, New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, Salem County Prosecutor’s Office, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, Union County Prosecutor’s Office, Bellmawr Police Department, Cherry Hill Police Department, Eastampton Police Department, East Brunswick Police Department, Egg Harbor Township Police Department, Elizabeth Police Department, Erma Police Department, Flemington Police Department, Delanco Police Department, Franklin Township Police Department, Elizabeth Police Department, Hamilton Police Department, Linden Police Department, Lower Township Police Department, Middle Township Police Department, Montgomery Township Police Department, North Hanover Police Department, Pemberton Township Police Department, Pennsauken Police Department, Pennsauken Fire Department, Trenton Police Department, Woodstown Borough Police Department, Camden County Sheriff’s Office, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Salem County Sheriff’s Office and Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

Acting Attorney General Lougy and Director Honig urged anyone with information about the distribution of child pornography on the Internet – or about suspected improper contact by persons communicating with children on the Internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children – to please contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 1-888-648-6007.

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