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Edward M. O’Hagan “used one of his email accounts to send video files containing images of child sexual abuse to himself,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
O'Hagan, Sellinger said, "also used two email addresses to create accounts on an encrypted file storage platform that was used to upload or create files containing images of child sexual abuse."
Investigators who arrested O'Hagan last May "recovered hundreds of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse" on his electronic devices, the U.S. attorney said.
O'Hagan took a deal from the government rather than risk a potentially lengthy federal prison sentence had he been convicted after a trial.
He pleaded guilty in federal court in Newark on Wednesday, March 6, to possessing and transporting child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo scheduled sentencing for July 18.
Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI's Newark Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force with the investigation leading to the plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Farhana C. Melo of his Criminal Division.
He also thanked Hawthorne police and the Passaic County Sheriff's Office for their assistance.
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