Prosecutors in New Jersey said they have arrested 14 people as part of an extensive child pornography sting, according to local prosecutor’s office. A Princeton University administrator and a bank executive were among those arrested.
Monmouth County prosecutors said that Operation Trading Post lasted from June until October 2018, the office said.
The suspects, including 14 men and a juvenile boy, were charged with child endangerment, the report said.
The suspects are accused of uploading child pornography to file-sharing websites and social media websites. One suspect was chatting online with an undercover agent who he thought was a boy, the report said.
William McMahon, 64, of Keansburg, was charged with luring and attempted sexual assault, the report said.
Meanwhile, Princeton said 61-year-old Gregory Cantrell was placed on administrative leave following the arrest, ABC7 reported. The station added that an executive with a bank was arrested as part of the sting.
“Operation Trading Post caught individuals who shamelessly viewed and shared depraved images of children being sexually abused,” Monmouth prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said in a statement.
Most of the defendants face up to 10 years in prison along with lifetime parole supervision and registry on a sex offender list.
Details of the Arrests
According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the arrests include the following:- Jonathan Henry, 22, of Octavia Place in Keyport, who worked as a dishwasher at The Turning Point. He was arrested on June 19, 2018.
- Michael Balbosa, 34, of Fifth Avenue in Neptune City, is a courier with Federal Express, and he was arrested on June 29, 2018, following an investigation that revealed that he used a file-sharing software to upload child pornography images and videos so others online could see them.
- Anthony Johnson, 38, of Ninth Avenue in Neptune Township, who is unemployed, was arrested on July 10, 2018, following an investigation of a tip forwarded by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that revealed he uploaded child pornography to Dropbox.
- Rene Torres, 48, of Gettysburg Drive in Howell Township, who works in Operations for ING Financial Markets, also arrested on July 18, 2018, after an investigation of a tip forwarded by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that revealed he uploaded child pornography to photo-sharing website Flickr.
- A 14-year-old juvenile, of Holmdel, was arrested on July 25, 2018, following an investigation that revealed that he used a file-sharing service to make child pornography images and videos available to others online. He was not named by the office.
- Brian Foley, 60, of Asbury Avenue in Atlantic Highlands, is an information technology specialist with the Cerner Corporation and former member of the Environmental Commission in Atlantic Highlands. He was arrested on July 26, 2018, after an investigation of a tip forwarded by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
- Alexander Ecock, 22, of Grenoble Court in Freehold, was arrested on July 31, 2018, following an investigation that revealed that he used a file-sharing software to make child pornography images and videos available to others online.
- William McMahon, 64, of Brookside Avenue in Keansburg, is a deli worker at Acme Markets, and he was arrested on August 3, 2018, following an investigation involving an undercover chat on Doublelist.com. McMahon believed he was chatting with and made plans to meet, a 14-year-old boy.
- Thiago Thebald-Simas, 24, of Oakhill Avenue, in Long Branch, who is unemployed, and he was arrested on August 24, 2018, following an investigation that revealed that he used file-sharing software to make child pornography images and videos available to others online.
- David Wu, 32, of Skyline Drive in Hazlet, a logistics specialist with Vanguard, was arrested on August 29, 2018, following an investigation that revealed that he used file-sharing software to make child pornography images and videos available to others online.
- Joshua Valerio, 37, of White Street in Eatontown, a laborer at Love, Inc., was arrested on Sept. 20, 2018, after an investigation of a tip forwarded by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that revealed he uploaded child pornography to email service Gmail.
- Fady Elghazaly, 33, of Ravenswood Road in Marlboro, a mechanic with United Airlines, was arrested on Sept. 26, 2018, following an investigation which revealed that he used file-sharing software to make child pornography images and videos available to others online.
- Ronald Paul, 56, of Haverford Court in Freehold, was arrested on October 18, 2018, after an investigation of a tip forwarded by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that revealed he uploaded child pornography to social media website Tumblr.
- Ryan Marques, 18, of Dorado Beach Court in Howell, a student, was arrested on Nov. 19, 2018, and was the subject of an investigation of a tip forwarded by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that revealed he uploaded child pornography to Dropbox.
- Gregory Cantrell, 61, of Mariners Cove in Freehold, an employee of Princeton University, was arrested on November 5, 2018, after an investigation of a Cybertip forwarded by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which revealed he uploaded child pornography to Bing Image.
