South Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Molesting Teenage Girl and Child Pornography

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a South Jersey man pleaded guilty today to charges that he molested a teenage girl while she was sleeping and distributed child pornography on the Internet. The charges stemmed from a child pornography investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice.

Bernard Cahill, 55, of Gloucester Township (formerly of Folsom), pleaded guilty to second-degree charges of sexual assault and distribution of child pornography before Superior Court Judge Albert J. Garofolo in Atlantic County. 

Egg Harbor Township Woman Receives 7-Year Sentence on Drug and Gun Charges; Husband gets 18-years

Chinyere Gardner

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that an Atlantic County woman was sentenced to state prison today on charges stemming from an investigation by the Atlantic City Violent Crime Task Force. The task force arrested the defendant and her husband in January 2013 upon executing a search warrant at their home and finding a large quantity of cocaine and an assault weapon.

Chinyere Gardner, 34, of Egg Harbor Township, was sentenced to seven years in state prison, including five years of parole ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge Michael A. Donio in Atlantic County. 

Galloway Man Charged with Fraud in Connection with Federal Relief Funds for Superstorm Sandy

Carl M. Meyer

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that two additional homeowners were charged today with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds in connection with Superstorm Sandy. Within the past month, the Attorney General’s Office has charged six homeowners with engaging in such fraud.

The Attorney General’s Office is continuing to aggressively investigate fraud in Sandy relief programs, working jointly with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the Offices of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Atlantic County Attorney Charged with Money Laundering, Conspiracy and Theft

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a prominent Atlantic County attorney who specializes in elder law and the owner of an in-home senior care company were arrested on charges they conspired to prey on elderly clients and steal their life savings. 

The two women allegedly stole over $2 million from at least 10 victims. The company owner’s sister and a former employee also are charged in the investigation by the State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice.

Acting Attorney General Announces Mandatory Training for Department Employees to Identify and Prevent Child Sexual Abuse

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman today announced that all Department of Law and Public Safety employees will receive mandatory child sexual abuse identification and prevention training as part of a proactive approach to eradicating this abominable crime in the state of New Jersey. This free, online training session is available to all New Jerseyans.

“As law enforcement and as parents, we owe it to our children to expose the perpetrators who commit these hideous crimes and bring them to justice,” Acting Attorney General Hoffman said. “Law enforcement will continue to crack down on this vicious crime. Yet, it is important to remember that it is everyone’s responsibility, be it teachers, friends, relatives or neighbors, to recognize the signs of abuse and report it to the proper authorities. That is why our Department will participate in this mandatory training.”

Department of Law & Public Safety Releases Latest Crime Data; Murder and Rape Cases on the Rise

TRENTON – The Department of Law & Public Safety today released the 2012 Uniform Crime Report (UCR), which shows that the overall crime rate and violent crime dropped four percent compared to 2011.

Robberies decreased six percent from 12,128 to 11,382, and aggravated assaults decreased four percent from 13,489 to 12,938.  While overall the news is positive, the murder rate edged up slightly, from 375 reported incidents to 387, and rape increased from 917 to 969.

“While the latest crime data shows a decrease in the overall crime rate in New Jersey, there is still considerable room for improvement.” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman.  “Reducing the number of shootings and murders in our urban areas continues to be a priority for the Attorney General’s Office and the New Jersey State Police.  The State Police will continue to support our cities in reducing senseless shootings and murders.”  

Two Galloway Township Men Indicted on First-Degree Cocaine and Weapon Charges

Ruben Sewell

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that two Atlantic County men were indicted today on narcotics and weapons charges, including a first-degree cocaine charge, resulting from an investigation by the Atlantic City Violent Crimes Task Force.

Ruben Sewell, 33, and Lavelle Davis, 34, who reside together on Buck Drive in Galloway Township, were indicted today by an Atlantic County grand jury.  Each man is charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute (1st degree), possession of cocaine (3rd degree), possession of heroin with intent to distribute (3rd degree), possession of heroin (3rd degree), unlawful possession of a handgun (2nd degree), possession of a handgun during commission of a drug offense (2nd degree), possession of a firearm as a convicted felon (2nd degree), and possession of prohibited weapons and devices (hollow-point bullets) (4th degree).

Eight Charged in Identity Theft Ring Using Account Information of Customers of TD Bank including Galloway & Absecon

Divine Garcia Jr.

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that eight people, including a former bank teller, have been charged with participating in an identity theft ring that used account information stolen from customers of TD Bank to steal more than $150,000 at bank branch offices in New Jersey. The eighth defendant was arrested today.

The following seven defendants were indicted on Oct. 28 by a state grand jury on second-degree charges of conspiracy, theft by deception and identity theft. The indictment stems from an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau.

Former Rutgers University Student Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Pornography Over the Internet

Hongyu Wang

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a former Rutgers University undergraduate pleaded guilty today to distributing child pornography over the Internet while a student at the university in New Brunswick.

Hongyu Wang, 21, of Piscataway, pleaded guilty to second-degree distribution of child pornography and fourth-degree attempted tampering with evidence before Superior Court Judge Alberto Rivas in Middlesex County. 

Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Wang be sentenced to three to five years in state prison. He also will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s law.

Galloway Man; Former Atlantic City Inspector Indicted for Allegedly Taking Bribes from Operators of Taxi Cabs and Massage Parlors

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a former Atlantic City inspector was indicted today for allegedly accepting cash bribes from a taxi operator and accepting money or sexual favors as bribes from operators of massage parlors and “stress therapy centers.”

Logan F. Holt Jr., 54, of Galloway Township, who was an inspector with the Atlantic City Department of Licenses and Inspections, Mercantile Department, from 2002 until February 2012, was indicted by a state grand jury on three counts of bribery, one count of official misconduct and one count of conspiracy, all second-degree charges. The Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau obtained the indictment as a result of an investigation by the New Jersey State Police.

Ocean City Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Pornography Over Internet

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that an Ocean City man pleaded guilty today to distributing child pornography over the Internet. He was among 27 defendants arrested last year as a result of “Operation Watchdog,” a multi-agency investigation led by the New Jersey State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice that targeted offenders who distributed known images and videos of child pornography online.

John B. “Jay” Mulligan III, 42, of Ocean City, pleaded guilty today to second-degree distribution of child pornography and fourth-degree possession of child pornography before Superior Court Judge John C. Porto in Cape May County. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Mulligan be sentenced to three years in state prison. He will be required to register as a Megan’s Law offender. Judge Porto scheduled Mulligan to be sentenced on Nov. 22.

In pleading guilty, Mulligan admitted that between Jan. 12, 2012 and April 13, 2012, he 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 State Police on April 13, 2012 allegedly revealed more than a dozen files containing child pornography, including several video clips, on Mulligan’s computer in his home in Ocean City.

“Each time we send another offender to prison for viewing and sharing child pornography online, we hammer home the critical point that this is a very serious crime,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “We’re working hard to banish the misguided and offensive notion that what these offenders do in the privacy of their homes is a victimless crime. In reality, what they do creates the demand that directly drives the sexual abuse of children.”

“Users of child pornography may think they can hide in the shadows, but we have the technology to detect their criminal activities online and follow their digital tracks right to their computers,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We want them to know that we will use that technology to prosecute them and put them behind bars.”

Mulligan was charged in Operation Watchdog, a three-month, multi-agency investigation in which one woman and 26 men were arrested in early 2012 on charges of distribution and possession of child pornography. Detectives linked all of the defendants to alleged use of the Internet to download and distribute images of child pornography. Peer-to-peer, or P2P, file sharing networks play a major role in the distribution of child pornography. 

There is a large library of images and videos known to law enforcement, and these electronic files can be traced in various ways on the Internet. Detectives involved in Operation Watchdog tracked transferred files to their origin and destination locations.

Deputy Attorney General Anand R. Shah prosecuted the case and took the guilty plea for the Division of Criminal Justice Computer Analysis & Technology Unit. The Digital Technology Investigation Unit of the New Jersey State Police coordinated the investigation, which also involved the Division of Criminal Justice and 19 other law enforcement agencies.

All of the New Jersey agencies that partnered in Operation Watchdog are members of the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC). Additionally, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office assisted in the investigation, and agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI assisted in the investigation and execution of warrants.

The ICAC Task Force in New Jersey works with out-of-state partners to share information on distributors and users of child pornography. A major partner is the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington, D.C. They maintain a national, toll-free tip line for the public to report crimes against children: 1-800-THE-LOST, or 1-800-843-5678. The tip line brings hundreds of leads to the New Jersey ICAC Task Force on sexual crimes against children.