Monmouth County Man Gets 4-Year Prison Sentence In Child Porn Case: AG

FREEHOLD, NJ — A Monmouth County man has been sentenced to four years in prison for distributing child pornography on the internet, the state Attorney General's office announced Friday.

Steven J. Anan, 56, of Neptune City, pleaded guilty to second-degree distribution of child pornography on June 2, according to a news release from Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino's office.

Anan was among 25 people arrested in February 2013 in "Operation Ever Vigilant,” a child pornography sweep by the New Jersey State Police, the Division of Criminal Justice, the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and federal partners.

Steven J. Anan, 56, of Neptune City, N.J., was sentenced today to four years in state prison by Superior Court Leslie-Ann Justus in Monmouth County. Anan will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law. Deputy Attorney General Marie McGovern took the guilty plea and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau.

Anan admitted that he knowingly used file-sharing software to make multiple files containing child pornography readily available for any other user to download from a designated “shared folder” on his computer. The New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit (DTIU) downloaded three videos of child pornography from a shared folder on Anan’s computer while monitoring a file-sharing network popular among sex offenders, authorities said.

The videos showed prepubescent girls, including one infant, being raped by adult men. The computer address from which the videos were downloaded was traced to Anan’s residence. Anan was arrested on Feb. 21, 2013, when authorities executed a search warrant at his residence and seized his laptop computer. A forensic exam of the laptop revealed more than 90 images and videos of child pornography.

“Those who share child pornography online promote and create a market for the torture and sexual exploitation of innocent children,” Porrino said. “The protection of children is among our highest priorities and we’ll work tirelessly to obtain justice for the victims by locking up the predators and perverts who traffic in this filth.”

“We’re putting offenders on notice that as easily as they can download child pornography from each other on these peer-to-peer networks, investigators can download evidence of their crimes,” said Elie Honig, director of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We’ll continue to work with our law enforcement partners to conduct child pornography sweeps like the one that snared this defendant.”

“We want these smut peddlers to understand that even operating in the dark recesses of the internet under assumed names and bogus IP addresses will not shield them from arrest and prosecution,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “The New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit continues to lead the fight against the depraved offenders who perpetuate the brutalization of innocent children by sharing these horrendous images and videos.”

Operation Ever Vigilant was a three-month investigation conducted by the State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit, the Division of Criminal Justice, other members of the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and federal agents from the U.S. Postal Service.

Anan was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Leslie-Ann Justus; he will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.

Porrino and Honig urged anyone with information about distribution of child pornography on the Internet – or about suspected improper contact by unknown persons communicating with children via the internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children – to please contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007.

Steven J. Anan photo via N.J. State Attorney General's Office; gavel photo via Shutterstock