NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey man admitted to distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material following an investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark.
Michael Kimmerle, 35, of New Milford, pleaded guilty Nov. 6 at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark to an information charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
“Kimmerle’s plea comes after he was identified by the advanced technology HSI Newark uses in investigations to disclose the sources behind a perverse online hub of child abuse,” said HSI Newark acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “We are committed to holding accountable anyone who creates, shares and views child sexual abuse material across the dark web, chat rooms, and other applications, as well as through peer-to-peer trading.”
According to the investigation, from Aug. 24, 202, through Aug. 7, 2022, Kimmerle distributed material containing video files of child sexual abuse, via a publicly available online peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing program. Law enforcement used undercover online sessions to access the P2P program. During these sessions a user shared multiple video files of child sexual abuse from an Internet Protocol address traced to Kimmerle’s residence. During a Sept. 14, 2022 search of Kimmerle’s residence, law enforcement found over 600 thumbnail images containing child pornography on Kimmerle’s laptop, including images derived from video files Kimmerle previously distributed through the P2P file-sharing program.
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