A Morris County man who is a teacher in Kearny was charged today with distributing videos and images of child sexual abuse, United States Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced tonight.
Anselmo Girimonte, 51, of Wharton, is charged by complaint with one count of distribution of child pornography.
He appeared by videoconference today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III and was detained.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From Dec. 27, 2021, through Jan. 17, 2022, Girimonte distributed material containing images and video files of child sexual abuse, via a publicly available online peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing network of linked computers.
Users must download the P2P program, which is widely available for free on the Internet.
The program allows the user to place files into a designated “shared” folder on his or her hard drive, from which other P2P program users can then download those files directly to the “shared” folders of their own computers. Users may then browse, search, select and directly download those files.
The program typically keeps a log of each downloaded event.
Law enforcement conducted an undercover online session to access the P2P program and to download nine video files containing child pornography from an IP address assigned to an internet service provider account associated with Girimonte’s residence.
These files included multiple visual depictions of pre-pubescent children being sexually abused by adults.
The count of distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina, with the investigation leading to today’s charges.
He also thanked the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, the Rockaway Township Police Department and the United States Postal Inspection Service for their assistance with the investigation.
According to his own social media, Girimonte has been an Italian teacher in the Kearny school district since 2006.
Patricia Blood, Kearny’s superintendent of schools, could not comment on the case; however, she did note the teacher is on “administrative suspension,” pending the outcome of the case.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.