25 are arrested in child-porn sweep

A statewide sweep has resulted in the arrests of 24 men and a Cherry Hill teen charged with possession and distribution of child pornography they downloaded.

Those charged include a Camden County man who had hundreds of disturbing images stored on his computer, officials said.

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office and New Jersey State Police announced the arrests Wednesday morning as the culmination of a lengthy investigation dubbed "Operation Ever Vigilant."

Those arrested varied in age from 17 to 66. Five had direct contact with young children, including two who were babysitters. Among those detained are four illegal immigrants, officials said.

"Anyone who views and distributes child pornography - particularly the type of child-rape videos targeted in this operation - puts himself in league with the predators who sexually assault children to create these videos," Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said in a statement.

"The children they watch being tortured are violated again by their actions, and these offenders may pose a danger to other children because of their predilections," Chiesa said.

In Burlington County, authorities raided a Mount Holly home on Grant Street, arresting William Payton II, 20, who was charged with possessing child pornography.

Brent Ailiff, 38, of West Berlin, remained jailed Wednesday with bail set at $100,000. Authorities said his computer contained hundreds of images.

Also arrested in South Jersey was Alfred Bakewell, 64, of Sicklerville; Ryan Bronchella, 34, of Clementon; Frank Sysk II, 19, of Browns Mills; and Nil Choudhury, 23, of Margate. Officials did not release the name of the teen, 17, because he is a juvenile.

Authorities said those arrested allegedly downloaded and shared sexually explicit videos of young children.

Investigators confiscated computers with videos, which included boys and girls engaged in sex acts, that were distributed through e-mail and software. State police spokesman Lt. Stephen Jones said the investigation was ongoing.

"The tragedy here is, once a piece of this garbage is put out on the Internet it can never be taken back," Jones said.

On Feb. 18, authorities began making arrests.

Stephen Rainone, 27, of South Amboy, is already listed as a sexual predator, convicted in 2002 and 2005 for sexual assault of girls under the age of 13.

Each person arrested was charged with second-degree distribution of child pornography and fourth-degree possession of child pornography. They face a potential 10 years in prison for distribution alone, Jones said.

"Everyone sitting in the seclusion of their darkened homes viewing child-rape videos has victimized these innocents by creating the market for this disgusting material," Col. Rick Fuentes, State Police superintendent, said in a statement. "There's no room for them to say, 'I haven't hurt anyone.' "

For more information on those charged, go to www.philly.com/pornsweep.