New Jersey —— James Agin, 69, of Westwood, is accused of possession and distribution of child pornography, the New Jersey Attorney General’s office announced on Dec. 1.
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Agin was one of 79 defendants named in the attorney general’s “Operation Safety Net” campaign. The nine-month, multi-agency child protection initiative “targeted sex offenders who exploited the internet and social media,” the attorney general’s office said.
Arrests were made in every New Jersey county. Eight defendants were arrested in New Jersey on charges related to various types of alleged “hands-on” conduct, including sexual assault, luring a child, conveying obscene materials to a child and manufacturing child pornography. Among them, a 17-year-old student from Bergen County—whose name and town of residence are being withheld because he’s a juvenile—charged with manufacturing, distributing and possessing child pornography, as well as invasion of privacy.
“The juvenile allegedly had over 1,000 files of suspected child pornography on his electronic devices, including video recordings he allegedly made by hiding his smartphone in a private bathroom in order to record underage boys who were nude, showering or urinating,” the state attorney general’s office said.
In two cases, investigators worked with other state and federal authorities in effectuating arrests.
George Castillo, 36, of Inglewood, California, solicited an undercover detective, who had been pretending to be trafficking children, to fly a 4-year-girl to Los Angeles so he could sexually assault her. Multiple law enforcement agencies collaborated, and Castillo is charged with first-degree conspiracy to commit child trafficking.
Joseph Donohew, 26, of Brownsburg, Indiana, is charged with attempted child molestation. He allegedly offered money to an undercover New Jersey State Police detective to have sex with a 9-year-old girl.
The investigation also saw 41 defendants charged with second-degree distribution of child pornography (which can carry a sentence of five to 10 years in prison), and 66 defendants charged with third-degree possession of child pornography (which carries a sentence of three to five years in prison).
The investigation included new techniques from investigators, including: “a new van equipped as a mobile cyber forensics lab, as well as a new canine trained to sniff out electronic devices, to assist in the execution of search warrants,” the attorney general’s office said.
“Both contributed greatly to the success of the operation,” the office said. “As electronic devices become smaller and easier to hide, the importance of dogs trained to detect them increases. There are thumb drives available that are hidden in or disguised as cuff links, bracelets, LEGO blocks, coins and other everyday items … The canine was used for a preliminary walk-through and would identify devices and loose electronic storage media not in plain view. The detectives would then thoroughly search the area where that evidence was found to ensure all digital evidence was recovered.”
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–Staff report