Evergreen Reporter

A man from Sussex County, New Jersey, Gaetano Lapegna, has received an 80-month prison sentence for the distribution of child pornography. The sentencing followed Lapegna's guilty plea to one count of distributing child pornography. The sentence was delivered by U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court.

Lapegna, aged 67 and residing in Franklin, New Jersey, was found to have distributed videos and images depicting child sexual abuse from December 2022 to March 2023. These were shared through a publicly accessible online peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing program. During the investigation, an undercover officer engaged in online sessions using this P2P program, during which child abuse materials were traced back to Lapegna’s IP address.

Following a lawful search of his residence on March 30, 2023, law enforcement officials recovered over 100 items depicting child pornography on a thumb drive owned by Lapegna. It was also found that his computer was operating the same version of the P2P program from which illicit materials had been downloaded by the authorities.

Judge Cecchi not only sentenced Lapegna to prison but also mandated a five-year period of supervised release and ordered restitution of $50,000. U.S. Attorney Alina Habba credited the successful investigation and sentencing to the efforts of special agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations Newark, led by Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel. Contributions were also acknowledged from the United States Postal Inspection Service, Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, and Franklin Borough Police Department.

The government is represented in this case by Assistant U.S. Attorney Farhana C. Melo of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark, with defense counsel provided by Claressa Lowe, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark.