Prosecutor: Eight Area Men Indicted on Child Porn Charges

Two more area men have been indicted on child sexual abuse charges stemming from online pornography incidents, bringing the total number of indictments of this kind within the several weeks to eight, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced on Thursday.

The two most recent of the eight have been charged with first-degree crimes, the most serious of offenses under state law.

Indicted on Tuesday were:

Jonathan W. Cruz, 38, of Aberdeen, who was arrested in January of 2020 was indicted on charges of: first-degree endangering the welfare of a child via distribution of child sexual abuse materials using a file-sharing program available to others; and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child via possession of child sexual abuse materials.
Neil Ridgway, 58, of Howell, who was arrested in April of 2019 and indicted on charges of third-degree endangering via possession of child sexual abuse materials.

Indicted earlier this fall were:

Michael Pipitone, 39, of Middletown, who was arrested in September of 2020 and indicted on charges of first-degree endangering via distribution of child sexual abuse materials using a file-sharing program available to others and second-degree endangering via possession of child sexual abuse materials.
Charles Hoagland, 57, of Hazlet, who was arrested in November of 2020 and indicted on three counts of second-degree endangering via distribution of child sexual abuse materials and one count of second-degree endangering via possession of child sexual abuse materials;
David Eidman, 53, of Long Branch, who was arrested in November of 2020 and indicted on two counts of second-degree endangering via distribution of child sexual abuse materials and single counts of third-degree endangering via possession and third-degree attempted endangering;
Carl Aliwalas, 29, of Neptune Township, who was arrested in May of 2021 and indicted on charges of second-degree endangering via distribution of child sexual abuse materials and second-degree endangering via possession of child sexual abuse materials; and
John Coluzzi, 33, of Manalapan, who was arrested in May of 2021; and Marvin Diaz, 35, of Howell, who was arrested in November of 2019 and indicted on charges of second-degree endangering via distribution and third-degree endangering via possession of child sexual abuse materials.

Earlier this fall, 40-year-old Kenneth Megill, of Wall Township, who was arrested in January 2020, was indicted on charges of third-degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree attempted obscenity to a minor for allegedly engaging in inappropriate conversations with and attempting to show inappropriate materials to a juvenile.

Convictions on first-degree criminal charges are commonly punishable by terms of 10 to 20 years in state prison. Second-degree convictions can result in terms of 5 to 10 years. Third-degree convictions can result in terms of three to five years.

Investigations into the actions of these defendants were conducted by members of the Prosecutor’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, working in tandem with representatives of local police departments in the jurisdictions in which the crimes took place. The cases are assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Dugan.

The Monmouth County ICAC Task Force includes members of the following police departments: Bradley Beach, Eatontown, Howell, Long Branch, Manalapan, Marlboro, Middletown, Neptune Township, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, Tinton Falls, Keyport, Keansburg, Belmar, Holmdel, and Red Bank; the Task Force also receives investigative support from the New Jersey State Police (High Tech Crime Bureau).

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