Basking Ridge Man Admits Having Child Sex Abuse Images, Videos

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — A Basking Ridge man and repeat offender admitted on Monday to having and sharing hundreds of images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

John Schulenburg, 67, of Basking Ridge, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in Newark federal court to a superseding information charging him with possession of child pornography.

Schulenburg was previously convicted of endangering the welfare of a child/possession of child pornography in Somerset County in 2013.

For this latest guilty plea, Schulenberg was initially arrested on Nov. 6, 2019, following an undercover investigation.

In July 2019, an undercover officer connected with Schulenburg on the internet, where he reportedly shared multiple files of images featuring child sexual abuse from an internet address traced to his home, according to documents filed in this case and statements made in court.

On Nov. 6, 2019, police took a computer from Schulenburg's home that had hundreds of images and videos of child pornography, including images of prepubescent children being sexually abused, according to the release.

For a repeat offender, the charge of possession of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison, a maximum of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents with the Newark Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of FBI Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. He also thanked the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office for its assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Barnes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

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