South Jersey Man Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Distributing Images Of Child Sexual Abuse

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Gloucester County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 240 months in prison for distributing images of child sexual abuse over the Internet, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Gerrett Conover, 50, of Woolwich Township, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman to Count Three of the indictment against him, distribution of child pornography. Judge Hillman imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court. Conover has been in custody since his arrest.

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

On Sept. 16, 2012, Conover was intercepted at the United States border on his way from Canada into New York and was found in possession of a laptop containing images of sexually exploited children. Agents obtained a search warrant for Conover’s home in Woolwich Township and seized various computers and other media containing additional images of child sexual abuse. The search also uncovered materials allegedly establishing Conover’s involvement in the Boy Scouts between 1990 and 2000.

At his guilty plea proceeding, Conover admitted that he knowingly distributed images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hillman sentenced Conover to lifetime supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly, with the investigation. He also thanked HSI Offices in Boston; Messina, New York; Los Angeles; and San Bernardino, California; as well as Customs and Border Protection in Ogdensburg, New York, for their roles.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Carrig of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.

Defense counsel: Jerome Brown Esq., Philadelphia