Belleville, New Jersey Man Sentenced to Seven and a Half Years in Prison for Possessing and Distributing Child Pornography

NEWARK, NJ—Richard Olivieri, 65, of Belleville, N.J., was sentenced today to 90 months in prison for collecting images of child sexual abuse and distributing them over the Internet, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Olivieri previously pleaded guilty to a superseding Indictment charging him with four counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Olivieri entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls, who also imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

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

Olivieri admitted that on Feb. 8, 2008, he e-mailed four images of child pornography to an individual with the username MOMDADOF1OHIO. The recipient of the images, which depicted prepubescent girls engaged in sexually explicit activity, was an undercover law enforcement officer in Ohio.

Olivieri also admitted that he possessed child pornography between Feb. 8, 2008, and July 30, 2008. According to statements made by the government at the sentencing hearing and not disputed by the defendant, the investigation uncovered more than 8,500 images, including in 108 videos, on the hard drive and in e-mail folders on a computer at Olivieri’s residence. The government also asserted that the defendant logged information from online chats regarding whether his contacts were willing to trade child pornography, and whether they had claimed to abuse their own children. The chat sessions also showed correspondence from Olivieri seeking parties who would allow him to have sexual contact with their children.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Walls sentenced Olivieri to five years of supervised release. As part of his guilty plea, Olivieri agreed to forfeit the computer and computer accessories which he used to commit the offense. He is also required to register as a sex offender. Restitution will be determined at a hearing currently scheduled for Jan. 10, 2012.

U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, for the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys André M. Espinosa and Gurbir S. Grewal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: Kevin F. Carlucci Esq., Newark