A Howell Township man convicted of being in possession of child sexual abuse materials on two separate occasions since 2017 has been sentenced to an extended term of five years to be served at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center at Avenel, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced.  

Thomas Vilanova, 50, was also sentenced to parole supervision for life under the terms set on Thursday by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Lourdes Lucas.

An investigation by the Monmouth County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, initiated via a tip received through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, resulted in Vilanova first being convicted of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child via possession of child sexual abuse material in July 2017.

As a condition of his plea in that case, Vilanova agreed to be subject to remote monitoring of his online activities. In September of 2020, a Monmouth County Senior Probation Officer contacted the Howell Township Police Department to report that Vilanova may have downloaded child sexual abuse materials from his desktop computer at home.  

Vilanova turned himself in to police in October of 2020 and again pleaded guilty in June 2021, this time also admitting to a violation of probation. He became eligible for extended-term sentencing due to his second conviction, and was deemed a repetitive and compulsive offender following an evaluation.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office

• In Memoriam: Former Fair Haven, Little Silver Resident, 1945 RBR Grad, Elaine Inman Pope, 97
• Retro RFH Baseball Tackle Time
• Police Report: Burglary, Drugs, Theft, Assault by Auto, DUIs, Unlawful Weapons Possession, Terroristic Threats, Tobacco Sales to Underaged
• Retro RFH Cool Girl Cruisin’
• In Memoriam: Lifetime Rumsonite, Writer, Cyclist, Adventurer, Doug Yorke Jr., 72