TRENTON, NJ — Former Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced on July 14 the arrests of 31 individuals — including a West Orange man — who are charged with sexually exploiting children online. The 31 men were arrested in “Operation 24/7,” a collaborative operation launched to address the continued spike in reports of potential threats to children from online predators during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fabian Cervantes, 18, of West Orange, was arrested May 19. The student and restaurant employee is charged with distribution of child sexual abuse material in the second degree and possession of child sexual abuse material in the third degree.
In addition, two men are charged with sexually assaulting or attempting to sexually assault children, and two other men are charged with manufacturing or attempting to manufacture child sexual abuse materials by extorting or soliciting sexually explicit images of children they encountered via gaming or social media apps. The remaining 26 defendants are charged with possession and/or distribution of child sexual abuse materials, including, in many cases, child rape videos.
The number of cyber tips to the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force about potential threats to children online — including tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children — remains high during the ongoing COVID emergency, with 3,324 tips received in the first six months of 2021. That is 39 percent higher than the total of 2,393 tips for the entire year in 2019, and on pace to exceed the total of 6,130 for all of 2020, which included 10 months of the COVID pandemic. Many cases in the operation stemmed from NCMEC tips, while others stemmed from law enforcement referrals or proactive online investigations.
“Operation 24/7” was conducted by the Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey State Police, ICAC Task Force, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Warren County Prosecutor’s Office and Gloucester Township Police Department.
The men arrested in the three-month operation range in age from 18 to 65. They are variously charged with crimes including attempted human trafficking, attempted sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, sharing obscene material with a minor, attempted theft by extortion, and manufacturing, distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material. The arrests were made between April 1 and June 30.
“Through these collaborative operations with the ICAC Task Force, we are working tirelessly to arrest child predators and those who exploit children by possessing and distributing child sexual abuse materials,” Grewal said, prior to stepping down as New Jersey attorney general on July 17 to become director of the Enforcement Division at the Securities and Exchange Commission. “With young people continuing to spend more time on their electronic devices due to the COVID pandemic, we must remain vigilant. We urge parents and guardians to warn children about the threats that exist on social media and popular gaming sites, and to watch for signs that a child has been subjected to online abuse.”
In past cases, the ICAC Task Force has arrested child predators who used the following chat apps: Kik, Skout, Grindr, Whisper, Omegle, Tinder, Chat Avenue, Chatroulette, Wishbone, Live.ly, Musical.ly, Paltalk, Yubo, Hot or Not, Down, and Tumblr. Arrests also have been made involving the gaming apps Fortnite, Minecraft and Discord. Grewal urged parents to familiarize themselves with these and other apps, and warn their children about sharing information with strangers.
“Through major cooperative efforts like ‘Operation 24/7,’ we are sending a message to sex offenders that, if you threaten or exploit children, we will identify and arrest you,” Division of Criminal Justice Director Lyndsay V. Ruotolo said. “In addition to pursuing tips from NCMEC, we routinely conduct proactive investigations on social media platforms and peer-to-peer file-sharing networks to identify online predators and offenders distributing child sexual abuse materials. There can be no higher priority than protecting our children.”
“Children should be safe, particularly in the sanctity of their homes,” acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said. “Sadly, since the start of the pandemic, predators have used the internet to invade our homes and put our children at risk. This joint operation is designed to confront what we know is an ongoing threat. It was successful in large measure because law enforcement worked together. Collaboration is always important but especially so when predators literally have a worldwide web to stalk and prey on children. We hope this is just one of many initiatives we will work on together.”
Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree charges carry a sentence of three of five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
The charges against the defendants are merely accusations and they are presumed innocent unless and until proved guilty in a court of law.
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