15 Arrested In NJ Child Pornography Crackdown Amid COVID: FBI

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Fifteen New Jersey residents were arrested in the last six months as part of a massive crackdown on child pornography amid the coronavirus pandemic, federal and county authorities announced.

Arrests included a youth pastor who manufactured child pornography; a 35-year-old man who tried to have sex with a 13-year-old girl; and a 40-year-old man who shared secret recordings he made of an underage nude girl, according to authorities.

It was done as part of Operation Safe Quarantine II, the second round of arrests that have been made since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Read more here: Cinnaminson Police Participate In Child Pornography Arrests

"Crimes involving children are always of paramount importance," Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said. "However, investigations into these specific types of crimes became even more urgent as the mass quarantine from the COVID public health crisis significantly increased the opportunities for online sexual exploitation of children."

The first round resulted in eight arrests, with the second round landing nearly twice that many, with more work to be done, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said.

“This effort will continue to be a priority for the BCPO and the agencies who partnered with us for this investigation,” Coffina said.

Seven people arrested in the first phase have already pleaded guilty, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.

Operation Safe Quarantine II ran from August 2020 through January 2021, and resulted in the following arrests, with all details provided by authorities:

• Sean Higgins, 30, Palmyra, was charged October 29, 2020, with a total of 28 crimes. He held the position of youth pastor at Harbor Baptist Church, and also served as a teacher at the Harbor Baptist Academy. Higgins was charged with six counts of first-degree manufacturing child sexual abuse material, one count of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, five counts of second-degree distribution of child sexual abuse material, one count of second-degree sexual assault, six counts of third-degree possession of child sexual abuse material, six counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and one count each of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, fourth-degree obstruction and fourth-degree contempt. The investigation into additional victims within the State of New Jersey and throughout the United States is ongoing.
• Bryan Bereza, 40, of Pemberton Borough, was charged December 2, 2020, with six counts of endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree invasion of privacy. Bereza is charged with manufacturing, distributing, possession with the intent to distribute, possessing child sexual abuse material, endangering the welfare of a child by impairing or debauching the morals of a child, and invasion of privacy by secretly recording an underage female while she was nude and then sending the images to other individuals. On December 3, 2020, Bereza was additionally charged with second-degree sexual assault by sexual contact, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree invasion of privacy.
• Jason McCann, 35, of Blackwood, was charged August 12, 2020, with luring, attempted obscenity of a minor and attempted endangering the welfare of a child. McCann believed he was sending pictures of his genitals and videos of himself masturbating to a 13-year-old girl, but the actual recipient was a Special Agent of United States Homeland Security Investigations. He attempted to arrange a meeting at a park in Bordentown Township to have sex with the girl.
• Mark Garagozzo, 31, of Ambler, Pennsylvania, was charged September 10, 2020, with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Garagozzo is accused of Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material. Garagozzo was arrested in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2020, with the assistance of the United States Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia Field Office and the Ambler Police Department.
• Frank Gibson, 72, of Tabernacle, was charged September 24, 2020, with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Gibson is charged with possessing child sexual abuse material, including images of infants and toddlers.
• A 17-year-old Willingboro boy was charged September 30, 2020, with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child. He is charged with possessing child sexual abuse material.
• Douglas Harper, 53, of Marlton, was charged October 2, 2020, with four counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Harper is charged with distribution, possession with the intent to distribute, use of file sharing software and possession of child sexual abuse material.
• Trevor Brown, 34, of Marlton, was charged October 15, 2020, with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Brown is charged with distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material.
• David Epps Jr., 34, of Medford, was charged October 21, 2020, with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Epps Jr. is charged with distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material.
• Stephen Gifford, 36, of Medford, was charged November 2, 2020, with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Gifford is charged with distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material.
• David Bucci, 43, of Burlington City, was charged December 22, 2020, with four counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Bucci is charged with distributing, possession with the intent to distribute, possessing child sexual abuse material and being the leader of a network for distributing child sexual abuse material.
• A 16-year-old Medford boy was charged January 14, 2021, with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child. He is charged with possessing child sexual abuse material.
• Mihir Patel, 25, of Mount Laurel, was charged January 15, 2021, with third-degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree attempted obscenity to a minor. Patel sent pictures of his genitals to a person he thought was a 10-year-old girl, but the actual recipient was a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
• Zachary Snider, 20, of Mount Laurel, was charged January 25, 2021, with one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Snider is charged with possession of child sexual abuse material.
• Azan Babar, 18, of Willingboro, was charged January 27, 2021, with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Babar is charged with distribution, possession with intent to distribute and possession of child sexual abuse material. Babar was caught selling online links of child sexual abuse material to others.

The investigations during both phases were spearheaded by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit, with assistance from the Cinnaminson Township Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Jersey State Police and United States Homeland Security Investigations – Cherry Hill Office.