Former Employee at Picatinny Arsenal Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography While on the Arsenal

NEWARK, NJ—A former employee at the United States Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command in Picatinny Arsenal pleaded guilty today to possessing child pornography while on the Arsenal, United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Hector Morales, 33, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh to an Information charging him with possession of child pornography, admitting he viewed the images on a laptop issued to him by the Department of Defense (DOD).

According to documents filed in this case and statements made during Morales’ guilty plea proceeding:

From August 2000 to June 2009, Morales was a civilian employee at Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County, N.J. Morales admitted that on June 29, 2009, he possessed at least three images of child pornography on his DOD-issued laptop computer and in his work station at the Arsenal. Morales also admitted that he had searched for pornography on his DOD-issued laptop computer and that he used the computer to look at the illegal images.

The count to which Morales pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for January 24, 2011. U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Innocent Images Unit, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, for the investigation of this case, and the Picatinny Arsenal Criminal Investigation Unit for providing valuable assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Mendelsohn of the United States Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.