Middlesex County Man Charged with Production and Possession of Child Pornography

NEWARK, N.J. – A Middlesex County, New Jersey, man was charged with producing and possessing photos depicting child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Anthony Lagotta Jr., 54, of Plainsboro, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count each of production and possession of child pornography. He had his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacey D. Adams in Newark federal court and was detained.

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

Approximately 15 years ago, Lagotta sexually assaulted two minor victims and took photos depicting that abuse. In July 2022, Lagotta uploaded approximately 30 of those images to a child pornography website hosted on the darknet. During a search of Lagotta’s residence on Aug. 19, 2024, authorities discovered on Lagotta’s computer approximately 700 images depicting sexual abuse of one of those two minor victims, including some of the same images that Lagotta had previously posted on the darknet forum.

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

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited FBI Newark’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. U.S. Attorney Sellinger also thanked the Plainsboro Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariel Douek of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

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