April 06, 2016
Source/N.J. Office of the Attorney General
Four South Jersey men were arrested and charged in “Operation Safeguard,” according to authorities: clockwise from top left, Thomas Guzzi Jr. of Pitman, Gloucester County, a 5th-grade teacher at the John H. Winslow Elementary School in Vineland; Bernard Rapp, 72, of Southampton, Burlington County; John Wilms, 46, of Mount Holly, Burlington County; and Brandon Weiss, 42, of Burlington Township.
A Pitman man who teaches at a Vineland middle school is one of 16 New Jersey men charged with child pornography possession and file sharing, authorities said Monday.
More than 100 files of child pornography were allegedly found on a personal computer owned by Thomas Guzzi Jr., of Pitman, Gloucester County, a 5th-grade teacher at the John H. Winslow Elementary School.
Guzzi also participated in drama productions involving children as the drama club adviser at the school and as stage manager at the Broadway Theatre of Pitman.
He is charged with third-degree invasion of privacy for allegedly hiding a tablet computer in a bathroom stall located in a rehearsal area across from the theater in order to record video. The bathroom is not open to the general public. A video found on his computer allegedly showed him installing the camera.
He was arrested Feb. 19 with bail set at $50,000.
The charges resulting from Operation Safeguard, which targeted offenders who used an online file-sharing network, were announced Wednesday by officials with the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, ICE Homeland Security Investigations, New Jersey Division of Justice and New Jersey State Police. The arrests were made between Feb. 10 and March 31, said Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy.
Three additional men from South Jersey were also arrested.
John Wilms, 46, of Mount Holly, Burlington County, was a driver for parcel delivery service. He was arrested on Feb. 25. He was charged with distributing 25 or more files of child pornography for files allegedly found in a shared folder on his computer, including many videos involving infants. His bail is set at $100,000.
Bernard Rapp, 72, of Southampton, Burlington County, is the oldest of those arrested. Retired, he was arrested Feb. 24. Charged with possession of 100 or more files of child pornography. His bail is $75,000.
Brandon Weiss, 42, of Burlington Township, Burlington County, is a line worker for label printing company. He was arrested Feb. 23 and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography. Bail is set at $100,000.
Twelve other men were charged with second-degree distribution of child pornography, which carries a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison, and third-degree possession of child pornography, which carries a sentence of three to five years in prison.
Some of the shared images include young children being raped, authorities said.
Sixteen New Jersey men were arrested and charged in Operation Safeguard, a joint operation by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and ICE Homeland Security Investigations that targeted offenders who allegedly used an online file-sharing network to download and distribute child pornography, including videos of young children being raped.
Source/N.J. Office of the Attorney General
Others charged:
Eugene Triston, 55, allegedly viewed child pornography on breaks between bus runs, which included driving elementary school children. Agents downloaded 27 files of child pornography from a shared folder on the personal computer of the bus driver for the Sparta School District.
A 17-year-old high school student from Hudson County allegedly had 122 files of suspected child pornography in a shared folder on his computer. The juvenile allegedly sold child pornography to people whom he met online in exchange for Amazon gift cards.
A senior IT officer for an insurance company in Jersey City, Shaun Dooley, allegedly had 220 files of suspected child pornography stored on his personal computer.
A factory worker from Kearny, Andres Tejada-Diaz, allegedly had 168 files of suspected child pornography in a shared folder on his computer. Investigators allegedly found a locked suitcase filled with sex toys and underwear for little girls when they executed a search warrant at his home.
Supermarket employee Robert Kunert, 22, of Hamilton, Mercer County. He was arrested March 31 and bail is set at $52,000. He allegedly possessed about 298 files of child pornography in a shared folder on his computer.
Matthew Dieterman, 32, of Piscataway is a public employee who works for Somerset County in a county garage. He was arrested March 4 with bail set at $50,000.
Oziel Hernandez Sandoval, 27, of Piscataway was arrested March 29. Bail was set at $75,000.
Germin Simon, 34, of South Plainfield is a self-employed computer repair technician under name “The Computer Man.” He was arrested March 17 and his bail is $100,000.
William Morgan, 59, of Manalapan is unemployed. He was arrested March 24 and his bail is $150,000.
Factory worker Christian Martinez-Gonzalez, 34, of East Windsor was arrested on March 7. His bail is $50,000.
Armando Gonzalez-Longorio, 70, of Elizabeth, works for an employment agency. He was arrested on Feb. 18 and bail is $100,000.
Dimas Zuniga, 44, of Roselle was arrested March 22. His bail is $50,000.
“These defendants come from all walks of life, but they allegedly share a depraved desire to see children being raped and sexually exploited,” said Lougy.
“By viewing and distributing child pornography, particularly the child rape videos targeted in this operation, these offenders directly motivate and put themselves in league with the predators who torture children to create these repulsive materials," he added.
