Repeat Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

NEWARK, N.J. – A Somerset County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for possessing multiple images and videos of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

John Schulenburg, 68, of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to a superseding information charging him with possession of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court. Schulenburg was previously convicted of endangering the welfare of a child/possession of child pornography in Somerset County in 2013. For a repeat offender, the charge of possession of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison.

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

In July 2019, an undercover law enforcement officer conducted an online session using a publicly available peer-to-peer program, which allows internet users to trade digital files. During this session, a user shared multiple files featuring images of child sexual abuse from an internet address traced to Schulenburg’s residence. On Nov. 6, 2019, law enforcement lawfully obtained a computer from Schulenburg’s residence that contained hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse, including images of prepubescent children.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Martinotti sentenced Schulenburg to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $58,000 in restitution.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents with the Newark Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of FBI Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office for its assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Barnes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.