Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that two men pled guilty yesterday in Superior Court to distributing child sexual abuse material.
In separate cases, Albert Pisanelli, 38, of Deptford and David Bucci, 43, of Burlington City, pled guilty in front of the Hon. John J. Burke III, J.S.C., to one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Second Degree).
Each defendant acknowledged possessing more than 25 images or videos of children engaging in sexual acts, and sharing those files with others.
Under agreements with the Prosecutor’s Office, each defendant faces five years in New Jersey state prison, without the possibility of parole. They will also be placed on the state sex offender registry upon release and be subjected to parole supervision for life. Sentencing was set for September 1 for Pisanelli and September 22 for Bucci.
They were arrested as part of the BCPO’s Operation Safe Quarantine, which pursued those engaged in the online exploitation of children during the pandemic. The initiative resulted in charges against 46 offenders during a 12-month period.
The Pisanelli investigation was conducted by the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit and Homeland Security Investigations – Cherry Hill Office, with assistance from the Burlington Township Police Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The lead investigator was BCPO Detective Jennifer Appelmann and an undercover agent from HSI – Cherry Hill.
The Bucci investigation was conducted by the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Newark Field Office, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations – Cherry Hill Office, the City of Burlington Police Department, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The lead investigator was BCPO Detective Kevin Sobotka.
The defendants will be prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Weiler.
The Prosecutor’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit and HSI – Cherry Hill Office are members of the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The BCPO also belongs to the New Jersey State Police Cyber Terrorism Task Force.
