A 71-year-old freelance photographer from Bergen County will spend at least three years behind bars after pleading guilty to spreading images of child sexual abuse on the internet.

This is the second time that Westwood resident James R. Agin has been convicted of child porn charges.

In 2007, he pleaded guilty to possession of child porn and was sentenced to probation.

This time, Superior Court Judge Frances McGrogan, sitting in Hackensack, sentenced Agin to five years in prison with three years of parole ineligibility. Agin will be subject to parole supervision for life and will have to register as a sex offender.

He pleaded guilty in February to second-degree child porn distribution using a file-sharing program.

Agin was among 79 men arrested in the fall of 2017 as a part of sting on child predators and pornographers.

Investigators said they downloaded more than 500 files of illegal images from a shared folder linked to an IP address tied to Agin. They said they later found hundreds of illegal videos and images on his computers.

“By sending defendants like Agin to prison, we deliver the message that possessing and distributing child pornography are very serious crimes – crimes that create a market for the terrible abuse of innocent children,” said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Friday. “This prison sentence reflects our determination to prosecute these offenders aggressively using New Jersey’s tough child pornography laws.”

Sergio Bichao is deputy digital editor at New Jersey 101.5. Send him news tips: Call 609-359-5348 or email sergio.bichao@townsquaremedia.com.

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