Lakewood man one of 40 charged in "Operation Statewide," a State Police-led child porn sweep.
Fabian Maldonado-Espinosa, 32, of Lakewood. TRENTON -- An Ocean County man ensnared in a statewide child pornography sweep last year was sentenced to state prison on Friday after admitting sharing illicit images of minors online.
Fabian Maldonado-Espinosa, 32, will have to serve half of his five-year sentence before he is eligible for parole, according to the state Attorney General's Office, which brought the charges.
The Lakewood man pleaded guilty in January to a second-degree charge of distributing child pornography. Under a plea deal, he will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law and will be subject to lifetime parole supervision.
40 people arrested in massive N.J. child porn crackdown
Authorities say State Police investigators from a specialized unit that handles cyber crimes involving children downloaded a file from a shared folder on Maldonado-Espinosa's computer while monitoring a file-sharing network that is "popular with sex offenders."
The investigators traced the file to an IP address at the man's home and, acting on a search warrant, seized a laptop later found to contain more files of child pornography, state authorities said in a statement following his sentencing.
He was one of 40 men arrested as part of a weeks-long crackdown on child pornography dubbed "Operation Statewide."
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