NJ child porn crackdown nets teacher, school bus driver

A statewide child pornography crackdown in New Jersey has led to the arrest of 16 people including an elementary school teacher and a school bus driver.

A state and federal probe called “Operation Safeguard” targeted online file-sharing networks to track down suspects who allegedly distributed child pornography, the Associated Press stated in an article reported by Fox29.

“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,” acting New Jersey Attorney General Robert Lougy was quoted by the Bergen Dispatch.

Thomas Guzzi Jr., a fifth-grade teacher at John H. Winslow Elementary School in Vineland, was among those arrested, the Dispatch added. Guzzi has also been charged with third-degree invasion of privacy for allegedly hiding a tablet computer in a public bathroom to secretly record people.

Also arrested was Eugene Triston, 55, a Sparta School District bus driver who allegedly watched child pornography in between bus runs, according to the Dispatch.

“These defendants come from all walks of life, but they allegedly share a depraved desire to see children being raped and sexually exploited,” acting Attorney General Lougy was quoted by New Jersey 101.5.

The 16 arrested, who ranged in age from 17 to 72, now each face second- and third-degree charges of child pornography distribution and possession, 101.5 added.