A Belleville man has been sentenced to 11¼ years in prison for reportedly distributing multiple still and video images of child pornography on the internet, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Mauricio Calderon, 51, of Belleville, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography. Cecchi imposed the sentence Wednesday, Aug. 24, in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From March 2020 to April 10, 2020, Calderon used an encrypted, internet-based application to distribute multiple graphic videos depicting the sexual assault of minors. During the course of the investigation, Calderon publicly posted multiple videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, some of which featured infants and toddlers, in a chatroom, and also sent links that redirected to web pages containing child pornography.
Law enforcement also discovered numerous videos and images of child sexual abuse on Calderon’s electronic devices when he was arrested at his home in September 2020.
In addition to the prison sentence, Cecchi sentenced Calderon to 10 years of supervised release.
Sellinger credited special agents with the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard W. Reinhold, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.
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