Burlco man sentenced to 9 years in child porn case

A registered sex offender from Burlington County was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison for downloading and sharing hundreds of images of child pornography.

In imposing a sentence on Donald Kivel, 38, of Palmyra, in federal court in Camden, District Judge Joseph Rodriguez also ordered Kivel to serve 10 years on supervised release and pay $19,980 in restitution.

Kivel pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography in April, according to court records.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Kivel admitted downloading sexually explicit images of children using peer-to-peer sharing software at his home.

He possessed and shared images that showed minors in an explicit manner, including sadistic, masochistic, and other violent conduct, prosecutors said.

Some of the more than 600 pornographic images agents found on his computer, seized in July 2011, depicted children younger than 12, officials said.

Kivel was listed in the New Jersey sex-offender registry after a 2008 conviction for sexually assaulting a child.

Court documents say he was convicted in a military court in Norfolk, Va., on two counts of indecent acts or liberties with a child for engaging in sexual contact with a 10-year-old girl, a family friend.

He received a two-year sentence in that case, the documents say. He served the time at Charleston, S.C., according to the Navy.

The Navy said Kivel enlisted in June 1995 and was separated from the Navy in 2010 after serving his sentence. He was a logistics supply specialist.