Monmouth County Man Charged with Producing and Distributing Child Pornography

NEWARK, N.J. – A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man is scheduled to appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge today for allegedly producing and distributing images of himself sexually assaulting a child, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Christian Importuna, 24, of Englishtown, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography. He will make his initial appearance today by telephone conference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor. Importuna was arrested at his home this morning by special agents of the FBI.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Importuna produced at least two videos that showed him sexually assaulting a child. The videos came to the attention of law enforcement officials on March 24, 2020, when Importuna attempted to trade images of child pornography with an undercover law enforcement officer on an internet-based application. Law enforcement initially linked the videos to Importuna through business records indicating that they were sent from his Englishtown residence. The investigation further linked Importuna to the production of the images through physical identifiers that were visible in the subject videos.

The charge of production of child pornography, carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. The charge of distribution of child pornography, carries a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited FBI Newark's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to these charges. He also thanked the New Jersey Regional Computer Forensics Lab, Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, and Englishtown Police Department, for their assistance with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Barnes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime/Drug Enforcement Task Force Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.