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Bruce Makley, 68, of Voorhees, must serve out just about all of the plea-bargained sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system.
Makley’s wife and stepson were home when U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents raided their Dutchtown Road home in August 2020, according to a complaint.
Agents seized a computer and a few thumb drives that had child porn files deleted from it, the complaint filed by HSI in U.S. District Court in Camden says.
What was contained on those files is incomprehensible.
Altogether Makley had more than 27,000 images of child abuse, the HSI agents said.
These, they said, included:
- oral and/or vaginal/anal rape of children approximately 0-1 years in age;
- oral and/or anal/vaginal rape of prepubescent children between 5 and 11 years old;
- “numerous photos of a child, approximately 1-2 years old engaged in fellatio with a dog;
- multiple videos of child female genital mutilation.
The agents said Makley told them that “if looking at child pornography was a crime, then he is guilty,” the complaint says.
Rather than risk a lengthy sentence after a possible jury conviction, Makley took a deal from the government.
In exchange for leniency, he pleaded guilty to having more than 600 images of child sexual abuse, “including images of sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence, or sexual abuse or exploitation of an infant or toddler.”
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Kugler sentenced Makley to 10 years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $152,000 in restitution, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Kurtz said in a joint release.
Sellinger credited Kurtz’s department, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and police from Voorhees and Mount Laurel for the investigation leading to the plea and sentencing, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen M. Harberg of his Camden office.
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