Franklin Man Sentenced to Over Six Years for Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material

Gaetano Lapegna, 67, shared hundreds of illicit files through a peer-to-peer network and was found in possession of over 100 additional items during a home search.

A Sussex County resident has been sentenced to 80 months in federal prison for distributing images and videos depicting child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

Gaetano Lapegna, 67, of Franklin, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court to one count of distribution of child pornography. The sentence, imposed by Judge Cecchi, also includes five years of supervised release and restitution of $50,000 to the victims.

According to court records and statements made during the proceedings, Lapegna distributed illegal content from December 2022 to March 2023 via a publicly accessible peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing platform. During the investigation, an undercover law enforcement officer accessed the P2P program and received hundreds of videos and images of child sexual abuse from an IP address later traced to Lapegna’s residence.

A lawful search of Lapegna’s home on March 30, 2023, led to the seizure of a thumb drive containing over 100 items of child pornography. Investigators also found that Lapegna’s computer was actively running the same P2P program used to distribute the material.

The investigation was conducted by special agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel. Additional assistance was provided by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Franklin Borough Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Farhana C. Melo of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.