December 10, 2015

Morris County, New Jersey Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Distributing Sexually Explicit Images of Children

TRENTON, NJ—A Madison, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for distributing images of child sexual abuse from his home computer, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Michael Hodukavich, 25, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to an information charging him with one count of distributing child pornography over the Internet. Judge Wolfson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Hodukavich admitted that, on Nov. 20 and 21, 2014, he distributed videos and images depicting child sexual abuse on the Internet via peer-to-peer file sharing software, which allowed others access to the material in shared directories. An undercover agent discovered and downloaded the images and videos, and the username and IP address of the sharer was traced back to Hodukavich’s residence. Hodukavich also admitted to having more than 600 images of child sexual abuse saved on his computer.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wolfson sentenced Hodukavich to five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, and the Madison Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Darren P. Dachisen Sr., with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa M. Wangenheim of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.