White Collar Crime News

Operation Silent Shield defendant gets three years August 9, 2009

Most defendants charged with distribution of child pornography get three years in prison if they have no prior record.  Defense attorneys should take notice as it shouldn’t take much work to get such a plea.  Complicating these cases is that almost all defendants confess before they call an attorney which makes a defense very difficult. 

For those few that do no confess, a three flat may not be all that it is cracked up to be.  A good attorney should be able to secure a five flat if the defendant is convicted at trial.  However, even a seven flat is not that big of a difference from a three flat.  A few extra months in prison may not be worth throwing away all of your rights and your life.  Without a confession, these cases are ripe for a good defense attorney to have fun with.  However, the chances of a defendant who has not confessed finding a good defense attorney and having the money to pay him or her is a rather rare occurrence.  As a result, these pleas will just keep coming without the State’s case being tested.

As a side note, the DAG’s that handle these cases are some of the nicest and most professional prosecutors you could ever hope to meet.

TRENTON – Attorney General Anne Milgram announced that a Passaic County man was sentenced to state prison today after pleading guilty to distributing child pornography on the Internet. The defendant was among more than three dozen people arrested in October 2007 as part of “Operation Silent Shield,” an investigation that targeted offenders who distributed known images and videos of child pornography via the Internet.

According to Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni, Kevin Scully, 21, of North Haledon, was ordered by Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Portelli in Passaic County to serve three years in state prison. Scully was also ordered to register under Megan’s Law. The sentence was based on Scully’s March 16 guilty plea to endangering the welfare of a minor (distribution of child pornography).

In pleading guilty before Superior Court Judge Philip H. Mizzone, Jr. in Passaic County, Scully admitted that between July 24 and Sept. 24, 2007, he knowingly used Internet file sharing software to make multiple videos and photographs containing child pornography readily available for any other user to see and/or download from a designated “shared folder” on his computer. On July 24, 2007, one of those videos was actually downloaded by an undercover detective from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force of the New Jersey State Police.

On Sept. 24, 2007, members of the New Jersey State Police executed a search warrant at Scully’s home. The search revealed at least 26 movie clips containing child pornography.

The Digital Technology Investigation Unit of the New Jersey State Police coordinated the investigation. Deputy Attorney General Lee D. Schaer prosecuted the case and represented the Division of Criminal Justice at the guilty plea hearing.