Franklin man charged with distributing child pornography

A Franklin resident was charged with distributing videos and images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said March 31.

Gaetano Lapegna, 64, was charged with one count of distribution of child pornography. He appeared March 30 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy Waldor in Newark federal court and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, he distributed videos and images of child sexual abuse via a publicly available online peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing program from December to March.

An undercover law enforcement officer conducted online sessions using the P2P program, during which a user shared hundreds of videos and images of child sexual abuse from an IP address traced to Lapegna’s address.

In a search of his home March 30, law enforcement officers recovered at least two videos and 100 images depicting child sexual abuse on Lapegna’s thumb drive.

Law enforcement also found that his computer was running the same version of the P2P program from which law enforcement downloaded child pornography from Lapegna.

The count of distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky Patel, with the investigation leading to the charges.

He also thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office and Franklin Borough Police Department for their assistance.