The investigation began with Daniel Allen Jr., 23, of Voorhees, who entered a guilty plea on Monday to charges of child pornography and endangering the welfare of a child.
Acting New Jersey Attorney General John Hoffman said on Tuesday that Allen had "a massive stash of hardcore photos and videos found in his laptop, including images of children being raped."
Hoffman went on to say that Allen "also posted more than a thousand photos he took of two young girls on a foreign website and asked site users to Photoshop the girls into child pornography."
Those girls were clothed in the pictures, Hoffman said, but said Allen would post hundreds of photos of the same two pre-teenage girls on the site and urged others who frequent the site to "comment dirty" and digitally combine the photos with child porn.
Officers said that after Allen's arrest, steps were taken to find and protect the two victims.
Under the plea agreement, Hoffman said, the state will recommend Allen be sentenced to seven years in prison.
Allen must also register as a sex offender under Megan's Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life, Hoffman said. Allen's sentencing is scheduled for December 13th.
Allen was arrest in August, 2012 and, during that time, investigators continued a joint investigation into users of a foreign website who communicated with Allen. That operation led to six more arrests.
In a news release, Hoffman described those suspects as:
Todd Gregory Nichols, 43, of Williamstown, N.J., was arrested in January 2013 by the Division of Criminal Justice and HSI. He allegedly sent images of child pornography to Allen's e-mail account. He faces state charges of possession and distribution of child pornography. Nichols allegedly communicated to Allen that he photographs young girls in his neighborhood.
John Scarano, 42, of Royersford, Pennsylvania, was arrested on Nov. 28, 2012 by the Montgomery County, Pa., District Attorney's Office and HSI-Philadelphia. He is charged with manufacturing child pornography with the images of the two pre-teenage girls provided by Allen, as well as possession and distribution of child pornography.
James Goelz, 76, of Wheatland, Wyoming, was arrested in October 2012 by the Oregon Department of Justice. He pleaded guilty to trading child pornography with Allen Jr. and to traveling to Oregon for the purpose of engaging in sex with a minor. Goelz is registered as a sex offender in the State of Wyoming as a result of his plea.
Gary Mitchell Luxenberg, 69, of Garland, Texas, a registered sex offender, was arrested on Oct. 2, 2012 by Garland Police and HSI. Luxenberg was visiting the foreign-based website at the time of his arrest. Child pornography was found on his computer. He pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges and is awaiting sentencing.
Christopher James Vesper, 33, of Bracey, Virginia, was arrested in April 2013 by HSI and the Virginia State Police. He allegedly traded child pornography with Allen.
Tyler Andrew Smith, 23, of Ponce Inlet, Florida, was arrested in May 2013 by the Daytona Beach, Fla., Police Department and HSI. Smith allegedly traded child pornography with Allen.
Authorities ask that anyone with information about any of these defendants or other offenders to contact law enforcement.
If you have information about the distribution of child pornography on the Internet or suspect improper contact by unknown persons communicating with children via the Internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children, please contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 1-888-648-6007.
