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From the beginning of 2020 to present, approximately 550 CyberTips have resulted in a total of 77 arrests in Monmouth County, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.
The majority of this year's investigations originated via CyberTips that were forwarded to our office by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which revealed that these defendants used social media platforms to possess child sexual abuse material, Linskey said.
The following individuals have been criminally charged:
- Earl Grant, 40, of Neptune, was arrested on January 21, 2022 and is charged with one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- Michael Hernandez, 21, of Colts Neck, was arrested on February 24, 2022, and is charged with one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- Stephen Galiatsatos, 38, Neptune Township, who was employed as a ride share driver, was arrested on March 10, 2022, and is charged with one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- Jeffery Hitt, 74, of Middletown, who is retired, was arrested on March 21, 2022, and is charged with one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials) and one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- Michael Mezzina, 61, of Holmdel Township, was arrested on March 29, 2022, after the Holmdel Township Police Department received a report from an electronics store employee that child sexual abuse materials were found on a laptop computer that Mezzina dropped off for repair. Mezzina was charged with one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- William Grimmer, 58, of Ocean Township, was arrested on April 21, 2022 and charged with third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- Yang Chen, 27, of Aberdeen Township, was arrested on April 14, 2022 and is charged with one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- Ryan Cutaneo, 22, of Howell, was arrested on April 28, 2022, and is charged with one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- Calvin Martinez, 31, of Ocean Township, was arrested on May 12, 2022 and is charged with one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- Santiago Reyes-Carrada, 30, of Keyport, was arrested on May 5, 2022 and is charged with one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- Brian Flynn, 31, of Hazlet, a sales representative, was arrested on May 24, 2022; following an investigation which revealed that he used Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file-sharing software to create child pornography files available to others online. Flynn is charged with one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, second-degree (Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Materials) and one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- Kenneth Ayala, 21, of Hazlet Township, was arrested on May 25, 2022 and is charged with one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- Osama Hassaballa, 37, of Ocean Township, a taxi driver, was arrested on June 9, 2022, and is charged with one count of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
- Brian Picardi, 60, of Keansburg, who was arrested on June 16, 2022 and is charged with one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Child Sexual Abuse Materials).
These investigations were referred from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
The Monmouth County ICAC Task Force includes members of the MCPO and the following police departments: Aberdeen, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Eatontown, Fair Haven, Highlands, Holmdel, Howell, Keyport, Manalapan, Marlboro, Middletown, Ocean Township, Red Bank, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, Tinton Falls, Wall and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations; the Task Force also receives investigative support from the police departments in Colts Neck, Highlands, Hazlet, Howell, Union Beach, Neptune, Keansburg, Red Bank, West Long Branch, Ocean Township, as well as members from the New Jersey Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory.
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