60-year-old Ocean County, NJ, man heads to prison for child porn

An Ocean County man will be spending the next few years behind bars on a child porn charge.

On Friday, 60-year-old Andrew Anastasio of Jackson Township was sentenced to five years in state prison, with a three-year period of parole ineligibility, after pleading guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography.

The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office says an investigation began after they received a tip from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that someone was sending/receiving images of child pornography over the internet.

Officials identified an IP address associated with a Jackson Township home as the location of the activity.

On September 23rd, 2021, detectives executed a court-authorized search warrant at Anastasio's home, an initial forensic examination of his laptop led to the discovery of several items of child porn, and he was taken into custody without incident.

In addition to the time behind bars, Anastasio will also be subject to the terms of Megan's Law and parole supervision for life.

Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer thanked the United States Department of Homeland Security, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the Jackson Township Police Department, and state officials for their work in this case.