2 Gloucester Twp. Residents Charged In NJ Child Porn Crackdown

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Two Gloucester Township residents were among 31 people charged on Wednesday with sexually exploiting children online, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced.

Brian Lusardi, 48 of the Glendora section of the township; and Gordon Strater, 55 of the Blackwood section of the township were both charged as part of “Operation 24/7,” a large-scale sting operation aimed at addressing the continued spike in reports of potential threats to children from online predators, Grewal said.

Lusardi is an employee at an unnamed skating rink who was arrested on April 15, according to authorities. He was charged with second-degree distribution of child sexual abuse material and third-degree possession of child sexual abuse material.

Strater, a mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service, was charged on May 12 with third-degree possession of child sexual abuse material, authorities said.

“We are working tirelessly to arrest child predators and those who exploit children by possessing and distributing child sexual abuse materials,” Grewal said. “With young people continuing to spend more time on their electronic devices due to the COVID pandemic, we must remain vigilant. We urge parents and guardians to warn children about the threats that exist on social media and popular gaming sites, and to watch for signs that a child has been subjected to online abuse.”

Many of the cases announced on Wednesday came from tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), authorities said. Others stemmed from law enforcement referrals or proactive online investigations, according to authorities.

Through the first six months of 2021, the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force has received 3,324 tips about potential online threats to children, authorities said.

In 2019, there were 2,393 tips for the entire year. That number jumped to 6,130 in 2020, and authorities said 2021 is on pace to exceed that number.

“Through major cooperative efforts like Operation 24/7, we are sending a message to sex offenders that if you threaten or exploit children, we will identify and arrest you,” Director Lyndsay Ruotolo of the Division of Criminal Justice, said. “In addition to pursuing tips from NCMEC, we routinely conduct proactive investigations on social media platforms and peer-to-peer file-sharing networks to identify online predators and offenders distributing child sexual abuse materials. There can be no higher priority than protecting our children.”

In the past, the ICAC Task Force has arrested child predators who used the following chat apps: Kik, Skout, Grindr, Whisper, Omegle, Tinder, Chat Avenue, Chat Roulette, Wishbone, Live.ly, Musical.ly, Paltalk, Yubo, Hot or Not, Down, and Tumblr, according to authorities.

Arrests also have been made involving the gaming apps Fortnite, Minecraft, and Discord. Attorney General Grewal urged parents to familiarize themselves with these and other apps and warn their children about sharing information with strangers, authorities said.

“Operation 24/7 is a testament to the success of the cyber tips received through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. As law enforcement, we would like nothing more than to be there for every innocent child, so every single tip can potentially save a young victim from a predator,” Col. Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said. “We will never relent in our efforts to root out and arrest anyone involved in the depraved network of criminals who seek children to sexually assault, as well as those who share child pornography online. Parents can join the fight by talking to their children about the dangers of online predators and closely monitoring their online activity.”

“Multi-jurisdictional task forces like this one are critical when combating child exploitation on such a wide scale, as was done here,” Acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer said. “These insidious offenses are too easily masked or hidden in the recesses of the internet and apps on our children’s phones. By pooling our resources together and working collaboratively, we are best able to protect the most vulnerable—our children.”

Operation 24/7 was conducted by the Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey State Police, ICAC Task Force, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, and Gloucester Township Police Department.