Passaic County Man Charged with Producing and Distributing Child Pornography

NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, man will make his initial appearance today on charges of producing and distributing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Jose Minaya, 24, of Paterson, 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 by video conference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor.

According to documents filed in this case:

In July 2019, Minaya used a web-based application to engage an 11-year-old child in a sexually explicit conversation online. Minaya ultimately instructed the child to take sexually explicit photographs and send them to him, and the child complied. Minaya also had used another web-based application to upload an unrelated video depicting the graphic sexual assault of a child to the internet, where it was publicly available.

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 special agents with the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason Molina in Newark, with the investigation leading to these charges.

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 contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.