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Eugene Triston, 58, admitted last year that he viewed and shared upwards of 500 images on breaks between bus runs of elementary school students and others in the Sparta School District.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of distribution of child pornography in exchange for leniency.
Triston – who viewed and shared videos of very young children being sexually assaulted -- will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life, Grewal said.
He was arrested at his Sussex County home in February 2016 as part of “Operation Safeguard,” a child pornography sweep conducted by the state Division of Criminal Justice, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the New Jersey State Police.
Triston “knowingly used file-sharing software to make multiple files containing child pornography readily available for any other user to download from a designated shared folder on his computer,” the attorney general said.
“While all those who possess and distribute child pornography online promote the sexual exploitation of children by their conduct, it is particularly alarming to find a defendant like Triston who held a job that put him in close contact with children,” Grewal said.
He warned offenders that authorities are “patrolling the Internet, and we will find you and send you to prison for your crimes.”
“Predators like this need to know that interagency cooperation ensures that their heinous activities are being constantly monitored,” said Brian Michael, Special Agent in Charge for HSI, Newark.
“Operation Safeguard” united special agents of ICE Homeland Security Investigations along with detectives from the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit.
Together, they monitored several online file-sharing networks that are popular with offenders who download and trade child pornography.
Using advanced technology, the investigators searched for digital “fingerprints” of known child pornography and search terms they used.
Deputy Attorney General Daniel, former Detective Tiffany Lenart, former Detective Laura Hurley and Detective Richard DaSilva conducted the investigation for the state Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau, in collaboration with HSI agents and detectives of the New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit.
Deputy Attorneys General Brandy Malfitano and Lilianne Daniel prosecuted Triston, and Deputy Attorney General Daniel handled the sentencing for the DCJ Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau.
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