Repeat Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

John Schulenburg, a repeat offender from Basking Ridge, faces a decade in prison following his guilty plea for possessing explicit material involving minors.

Newark, NJ: In a decisive court ruling, John Schulenburg, 68, of Basking Ridge, Somerset County, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for possessing child sexual abuse images and videos. This announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.

Schulenburg, who previously pleaded guilty via videoconference before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez, faced sentencing by U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Newark federal court. Having a prior conviction for a similar offense in 2013, Schulenburg’s repeat offender status mandated a minimum 10-year prison term for this charge.

Investigations revealed that in July 2019, an undercover operation using a peer-to-peer program led to the discovery of multiple files depicting child sexual abuse shared from an internet address linked to Schulenburg’s residence. A subsequent lawful search in November 2019 uncovered hundreds of such images and videos on a computer at Schulenburg’s home, including content involving prepubescent children.

Beyond the prison sentence, Judge Martinotti ordered Schulenburg to five years of supervised release and to pay $58,000 in restitution.

Special agents from the Newark Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, led by FBI Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy, played a pivotal role in the investigation, with additional support from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Barnes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark represented the government in this case. This sentencing highlights the legal system's rigorous stance against repeat offenders in cases involving the exploitation of children and underscores the collaborative efforts of law enforcement agencies in tackling such serious crimes.