14 Charged With Child Porn Crimes In N.J. Sweeps
By David Madden and Cleve Bryan
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- Phase two of a new crackdown on child pornography in New Jersey has resulted in the arrest of 14 more alleged offenders, many from the southern part of the state.
The take from the sweep, dubbed by law enforcement "Predator Alert II," runs the gamut: two school bus drivers from Mays Landing, a software engineer, a minister in training, a corporate executive from Cherry Hill.
PHOTOS: 14 Arrested In NJ Child Pornography Sweep
New Jersey attorney general John Hoffman calls them all child predators.
"The common link is their depraved interest in viewing children being raped, being tortured, being exploited, and being hurt," Hoffman said today at a press conference in Trenton.
An unemployed man from Monroeville (Salem County), 30-year-old Michael Van Culin, is charged with coercing a 16-year-old Canadian girl into stripping, which he allegedly recorded.
None of the cases are related and some date back to February. All 14 men are charged under a newly adopted state law that significantly increases jail time for those convicted of possessing, distributing, or creating child pornography.
A representative from the Hamilton Township School District released the following statement about the sweep:
"The Hamilton Township School District has been in contact with State of New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice regarding the arrest of two bus drivers from Sheppard Bus Company (a third party vendor), with whom the District has contracted for busing services. The individuals are employed by Sheppard Bus Company directly and are not District employees. At this time, there is no indication that there were any inappropriate activities involving Hamilton Township students. We have been advised that a full criminal investigation is currently ongoing into this matter and we have informed the State's investigators that the District intends to fully cooperate with the investigation in order to assist in the prosecution of these alleged heinous crimes."
"We were informed by law enforcement of the alleged charges. They are not working at this time," says Manny Cabegin from Sheppard's human resource department.
He defended the company's hiring practices saying, "We met all state and federal regulations and NJDOT regulations for firing employees that work with school age children."