Across Monmouth County, 14 men busted for child ‘porn’ this year

FREEHOLD – At least 14 men have been arrested across Monmouth County this year so far, accused of using social media platforms to access and share child sexual abuse material.

In addition to over a dozen arrests since January, two men were also recently sentenced to several years in prison for similar offenses, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced Thursday.

John V. Catalano, 36, of Freehold, was sentenced on July 29 to five years in state prison for second-degree endangering the welfare of a child – distribution of child sexual abuse materials.

He pleaded guilty in Monmouth County Superior Court in February, stemming from his sharing of more than two dozen files of child sexual abuse material.

Barton Cross-Tierney, 32, of Ocean Township, was sentenced on the same day to three years in state prison for third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and three years for third-degree exhibiting obscenity to a minor.

He will serve both sentences at the same time.

Cross-Tierney was busted for lewd and inappropriate behavior in 2018 with young users of Discord, an online chat platform that allows for text exchanges, voice communications and video chats.

He engaged in sexual acts while in a video chat with at least one victim, prosecutors said.

The men arrested this year so far have ranged in age from 21 to 74. Most of the cases began as tips sent along by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Each was then pursued by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit and the Monmouth County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Brian Flynn, 31, of Hazlet, was arrested on May 24 after investigators found he used Peer-to-Peer file-sharing software to make child pornography files available to others online.

Flynn, a sales representative, was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child (distribution of child sexual abuse materials) and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials).

Jeffery Hitt, 74, a retired Middletown resident, was arrested on March 21 and charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials) and endangering the welfare of a child (distribution of child sexual abuse materials).

Michael Mezzina, 61, of Holmdel, was arrested on March 29, after the Holmdel Township Police Department received a report from an electronics store employee that child sexual abuse materials were found on a laptop that he dropped off for repair.

Mezzina was charged with endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials).

Earl Grant, 40, of Neptune, was arrested on Jan. 21 and charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials).

Michael Hernandez, 21, of Colts Neck, was arrested on Feb. 24 and charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials).

Kenneth Ayala, 21, of Hazlet, was arrested on May 25 and charged with endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials).

Stephen Galiatsatos, 38, of Neptune, was arrested on March 10 and charged with endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials).

Galiatsatos worked as as a rideshare driver.

Osama Hassaballa, 37, of Ocean Township, a taxi driver, was arrested on June 9 and charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials).

William Grimmer, 58, of Ocean Township, was arrested on April 21 and charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials).

Yang Chen, 27, of Aberdeen, was arrested on April 14 and charged with endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials).

Calvin Martinez, 31, of Ocean Township, was arrested on May 12 and charged with endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials).

Ryan Cutaneo, 22, of Howell, was arrested on April 28 and charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials).

Brian Picardi, 60, of Keansburg, was arrested on June 16 and charged with endangering the welfare of a child (child sexual abuse materials).

Santiago Reyes-Carrada, 30, of Keyport, was arrested on May 5 and charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse materials). Prosecutors did not release a driver’s license or arrest booking photo of him.

Erin Vogt is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at erin.vogt@townsquaremedia.com

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