Princeton University worker among 14 in Monmouth child porn sting
FREEHOLD BOROUGH — Fourteen people, including a juvenile, have been charged as part of a police operation focused on those viewing images of child sexual exploitation.
"Operation Trading Post" was a five-month operation spearheaded by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Computer Crimes Unit and Monmouth County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force between June and October.
“It is incumbent on everyone, particularly those of us in law enforcement, to protect children from harm and exploitation. To that end, Operation Trading Post caught individuals who shamelessly viewed and shared depraved images of children being sexually abused,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said in a statement. “Our successful operation demonstrates the value of our partnerships with the local law enforcement agencies that help our ICAC Task Force continue to have a vigilant and watchful eye for this extremely damaging criminal activity.”
Among those charged was Gregory Cantrell, 61, of Howell, who is Princeton University's associate director for workplace safety, according to the university website. He has been employed by Princeton for 28 years, according to his Linkedin account.
"We are aware of the charge and are cooperating with authorities," university spokesman Michael Hotchkiss said, adding that Cantrell was placed on administrative leave.
The arrest of Brian Foley, a former member of the Environmental Commission in Atlantic Highlands and an IT Specialist with Cerner Corporation, had been announced in July.
William McMahon, 64, of Keansburg, a deli worker for Acme Markets, was arrested in August after he made arrangements to meet with who he thought was a 14-year-old boy, authorities said.
All the defendants were released on the conditions that they have no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18 and not use the internet.
Also arrested:
Jonathan Henry, 22, of Keyport, a dishwasher at The Turning Point, was arrested on June 19. He is accused of uploading child pornography to Twitter and Dropbox.
Michael Balbosa, 34, of Neptune City, a courier with Federal Express, was arrested on June 29. He is accused of using peer-to-peer file-sharing software to distribute child pornography images and videos.
Anthony Johnson, 38, of Neptune Township, who is unemployed, was arrested on July 10. He is accused of uploading child pornography to Dropbox.
Rene Torres, 48, of Howell, employed by ING Financial Markets, was arrested on July 18. He is accused of uploading child pornography to Flikr.
Police arrested an underage suspect on July 25, accusing him of using peer-to-peer file-sharing software to distribute child pornography images and videos.
Alexander Ecock, 22, of Freehold Township, was arrested on July 31. He's accused of using peer-to-peer file-sharing software to distribute child pornography images and videos.
Thiago Thebald-Simas, 24, of Long Branch, who is unemployed, was arrested on Aug. 24. He's accused of using peer-to-peer file-sharing software to distribute child pornography images and videos.
David Wu, 32, of Hazlet, a logistics specialist with Vanguard, was arrested on Aug. 29. He's accused of using peer-to-peer file-sharing software to distribute child pornography images and videos.
Joshua Valerio, 37, of White Street in Eatontown, a laborer at Love Inc., was arrested on Sept. 20. He's accused of uploading child pornography to Gmail.
Fady Elghazaly, 33, of Marlboro, a mechanic with United Airlines, was arrested on Sept. 26. He's accused of using peer-to-peer file-sharing software to distribute child pornography images and videos.
Ronald Paul, 56, of Freehold Township, was arrested on Oct. 18. He's accused of uploading child pornography to Tumblr.
Ryan Marques, 18, of Howell, a student, was arrested on Nov. 19. He's accused of uploading child pornography to Dropbox.
Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ