Mercer County Man who Possessed Over 49,000 Files of Child Pornography Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Pornography on Internet

TRENTON –Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that a man who had more than 49,000 files of child pornography on his computer when he was arrested last year in the multi-agency child protection initiative “Operation Safety Net” pleaded guilty today to distributing child pornography.

Callen Kapschock, 56, of Hamilton (Mercer County), N.J., pleaded guilty to second-degree distribution of child pornography before Superior Court Judge Peter E. Warshaw Jr. in Mercer County. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Kapschock be sentenced to six years in prison, including three years of parole ineligibility. He will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 4, 2019.

While monitoring a peer-to-peer file sharing network popular with sex offenders as part of “Operation Safety Net,” detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice downloaded more than 25 files of child pornography from a shared folder at an IP address that was subsequently traced to Kapschock. Detectives and agents from the Division of Criminal Justice, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, and New Jersey State Police executed a search warrant at Kapschock’s residence and arrested him on Aug. 31, 2017. They seized his desktop computer, which a preview determined contained numerous files of child pornography. The Hamilton Police Department assisted in the operation. A later forensic examination of the computer revealed that it contained more than 49,000 videos and images of child pornography.

Deputy Attorney General Alyssa Bloom prosecuted Kapschock and took the guilty plea for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau.

“We are determined to seek lengthy prison sentences for super possessors of child pornography like Kapschock, because the more that offenders collect and distribute these materials, the more they drive the terrible sexual abuse of young children,” said Attorney General Grewal. “We will continue to collaborate across all levels of law enforcement to bring these criminals to justice.”

“We monitor the internet on a daily basis with our law enforcement partners to apprehend the offenders who exploit and re-victimize children by distributing these abhorrent materials,” said Director Veronica Allende of the Division of Criminal Justice.  “We want these criminals to know that when we catch them, they will face serious prison time.”

Kapschock was among 79 child predators and child pornography offenders arrested in “Operation Safety Net,” a nine-month, multi-agency child protection operation conducted in 2017 by the New Jersey Regional ICAC Task Force, which is led by the New Jersey State Police and includes the Division of Criminal Justice, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, all 21 County Prosecutors’ Offices, and many other state, county and local law enforcement agencies. Ten alleged “hands-on” offenders were arrested, including eight New Jersey men, as well as men in California and Indiana who allegedly tried to have children transported interstate from New Jersey for them to sexually assault.

The cases are being prosecuted for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau under the supervision of Bureau Chief Julia S. Glass.  Attorney General Grewal commended all of the members of law enforcement who investigated for the Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey State Police, HSI-Newark, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, and New Jersey ICAC Task Force.

Attorney General Grewal and Director Allende urged anyone with information about the 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 contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007.

Defense Attorney:
Rubin M. Sinins, Esq., Hicks Kahn Wikstrom & Sinins, P.C., Springfield, N.J.

Follow the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office online at Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flicker & YouTube. The social media links provided are for reference only. The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office does not endorse any non-governmental websites, companies or applications.

####

Translate »