Hunterdon County, N.J., Man Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison For Distributing Videos Of Child Sexual Abuse Over The Internet

TRENTON, N.J. — A Hunterdon County, N.J., man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for distributing images of child sexual abuse over the Internet, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

John Livoti, 42, of Hampton, N.J., previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton federal court to an Information charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography. Judge Pisano imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.

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

Livoti admitted that from May 2011 through February 2012 he used peer-to-peer file sharing software to download and to share images of child pornography through the Internet. He accessed the Internet through his neighbor’s wireless Internet connection. He further admitted that for a period of time in 2011 he paid for a minor, living in another state, to access the peer-to-peer network so that the minor could access child pornography.

Special agents of the FBI and other law enforcement executed a search warrant at Livoti’s apartment in Hampton, N.J., on Feb. 2, 2012. Law enforcement seized a netbook computer and an external hard drive that contained child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge David Velazquez in Newark; the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns III; and Hunterdon County Chief of Detectives John J. Kuczynski, with the investigation leading to today’s sentence.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Pisano sentenced Livoti to lifetime supervised release, with restricted contact with minors, and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution. He must also register as a sex offender.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Clabby of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.

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Defense counsel: Lisa Van Hoeck Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Trenton