Bergen County Man Admits Downloading Images and Videos of Child Sexual Abuse

NEWARK—A Bergen County, New Jersey man today admitted knowingly receiving over the Internet images and videos of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Joseph Anthony Amari, 81, of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court to count one of an Indictment charging him with receipt of child pornography.

Amari, who was initially federally charged by complaint in 2009, is currently serving a sentence in state prison following a separate state conviction for endangering the welfare of two minors. The court stayed the federal prosecution pending the resolution of the state charges.

Amari admitted during his guilty plea that he used peer-to-peer file sharing software to download images and videos in February 2007 of children being sexually abused.

Amari faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of 20 years, as well as a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is currently scheduled for May 13, 2013.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force in New Jersey, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge David Velazquez in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s plea. He also thanked the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor John L. Molinelli, and the Fair Lawn Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Erik Rose.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jane H. Yoon and Shirley U. Emehelu of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.