Monmouth County, N.J., Man Sentenced To 78 Months In Prison For Possession Of Child Pornography

TRENTON, N.J. - A Monmouth County, N.J., man was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for possessing child pornography on his computer, including violent video images, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Danial Hillman, 28, of Atlantic Highlands, N.J., previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano to one count of an Indictment charging him with possession 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:

As early as Dec. 6, 2010, undercover law enforcement officers downloaded videos and images of child pornography from Hillman on the Internet via peer-to-peer file sharing software.  The images downloaded by federal investigators from Hillman’s shared directories included three videos of three children, all under the age of 12, being sexually abused. Law enforcement officers from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Atlantic Highlands Police Department, who executed a search warrant at Hillman’s home on April 12, 2011, seized multiple computers, one of which contained images depicting child pornography, including sadistic conduct and other violent images involving minors.

U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, in New Jersey under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees; the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni; and the Atlantic Highlands Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jerry Vasto, with the investigation leading to today's sentence.               

In addition to the prison term, Judge Pisano sentenced Hillman to five years of supervised release, with computer-use monitoring. He must 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.

12-036                       

Defense counsel: Charles F. Clark Esq., Freehold, N.J.