Collingswood Man Arrested In NJ Child Porn Bust

COLLINGSWOOD, NJ — A Collingswood man was among 79 people arrested in a "massive" bust of child predators and child pornographers, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced. Nelson Cintron, Jr., 54, of Collingswood, was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography,Porrino said.

He was charged as part of "Operation Safety Net," a nine-month, multi-agency child protection initiative that targeted sex offenders who exploited the internet and social media. There were arrests in every New Jersey county.

Those arrested included 10 "hands-on" offenders, including child predators who allegedly tried to have children transported interstate from New Jersey by adult traffickers so they could have sex with the children, according to the Office of Attorney General release.

"The men we arrested lurked in the shadows of the internet and social media, looking for opportunities to sexually assault young children or to view such unspeakable assaults by sharing child pornography," said Attorney General Porrino. "We set up a wide safety net in this operation to snare these alleged predators and to protect children, which remains our highest priority."

Operation Safety Net conducted proactive investigations to apprehend offenders by monitoring peer-to-peer file-sharing networks and identifying the IP addresses of individuals sharing child pornography, according to the release.

Detectives also conducted undercover chat investigations on social media platforms, which led to arrests of alleged hands-on offenders and defendants attempting to lure children.

The arrests were spearheaded by the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The operation made use of a new electronics-sniffing dog, Mega, deployed by the State Police and a new mobile cyber forensics laboratory, both of which will be showcased at the press conference.

Operation Safety Net made extensive use of two key new tools: an electronics detection canine and a mobile forensics van. Both contributed greatly to the success of the operation, the release said.

As electronic devices become smaller and easier to hide, the importance of dogs trained to detect them increases. There are thumb drives available that are hidden in or disguised as cuff links, bracelets, LEGO blocks, coins and other everyday items. Throughout the operation, the canine was used at State Police and Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) search warrant scenes, the release said.

The canine was used for a preliminary walk-through and would identify devices and loose electronic storage media not in plain view. The detectives would then thoroughly search the area where that evidence was found to ensure all digital evidence was recovered.

Rapid triage of computers at search sites – also called forensic previewing – is a critical component of child pornography investigations. Such forensic previewing can result in the immediate arrest of individuals who otherwise might be left to continue direct illicit sexual contact with minors, preventing further abuse of victims, the release said. The previewing of computers at search sites has often had to occur in close proximity to the alleged perpetrator and often in potentially dangerous environments.

As an example, in the last operation, two DCJ detectives were hospitalized after the suspect at the search warrant scene attempted to gain control of one detective's handgun, resulting in a dangerous struggle. To maintain the integrity of the evidence gathering process, it is important for the forensic examiner to have the proper equipment to work with and the proper environment to work in.

For these reasons, DCJ purchased a customized van, equipped with the appropriate desks and electrical and other equipment, which is used on-site for the forensic previewing of computers and computer-related equipment, the release said. This van enabled detectives in Operation Safety Net to safely examine suspected devices within the van and conduct more extensive previews at the scene, increasing the number of charges carrying enhanced penalties.

OAG photo