NY Man Sentenced To 7 Years For Transporting Child Porn Into NJ: Feds

NEW JERSEY - A New York man was sentenced Tuesday in Trenton federal court for transporting dozens of child pornography videos into New Jersey, federal officials said.

Jesus Modesto Sanchez, 31, was sentenced to seven years in prison after previously pleading guilty to one count of transporting child pornography in May, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in a statement.

Modesto Sanchez was arrested in a 2020 sting operation headed by the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and the FBI that busted nearly a dozen others who used social media and chat apps to arrange sex with underage girls and boys, Patch previously reported.

Modesto Sanchez, who was previously employed at a professional financial firm in New York City, allegedly attempted to solicit an undercover officer who he believed was a 13-year-old in October 2020.

On Oct. 17, 2020, Modesto Sanchez was arrested after traveling from New York to New Jersey to meet an undercover officer, whom he believed was a minor at the time. Officers later discovered a "significant collection" of child pornography on Modesto Sanchez’s cell phone, including 72 videos and one image depicting the sexual abuse of minors, Sellinger said.

Modesto Sanchez was initially charged with second-degree attempted luring, second-degree attempted sexual assault, second-degree attempt to manufacture child pornography and third-degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child, Patch previously reported.

In addition to the prison sentence, Modesto Sanchez was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.