A former Kearny school district Italian teacher was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for possessing and distributing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Anselmo Girimonte, 53, of Wharton, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals to an indictment charging him with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.
Judge Neals imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
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 program. Law enforcement used undercover online sessions to access the P2P program and during these sessions, a user shared multiple video files of adults sexually abusing prepubescent children from an internet protocol address traced to Girimonte’s residence.
During a March 2, 2022, search of Girimonte’s residence, law enforcement found more than 100 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse, including images of prepubescent children being sexually abused, on Girimonte’s cell phone.
In addition to the prison term, Neals sentenced Girimonte to 10 years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $68,000 in restitution to the victims.
Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. He also thanked the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, the Rockaway Township Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Learn more about the writer ...
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.