A Bayonne man has received a three year prison sentence after authorities found over 100 files of child pornography on his personal computer, state Attorney General Chris Porrino announced.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Andrew Bann, 31, of Bayonne, was sentenced to three years in state prison by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Mirtha Ospinty. Bann pleaded guilty on to a charge of possession of 100 or more files of child pornography on October 23 and a second charge of third-degree possession of child pornography in Ocean County, officials said.
The Ocean County indictment was transferred to Hudson County for a global resolution of the case. Bann was sentenced to three years in prison on each charge, with the sentences to run concurrently, police said.
Bann was arrested by detectives of the New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit on Oct. 28, 2014 in Toms River, after detectives received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about an individual who was uploading child pornography to his email account, according to court documents.
The account was traced to Bann, who was found to have more than 60 files of child pornography on his laptop computer when he was arrested, authorities said.
Bann was facing an indictment charging him with possession of child pornography related to the Ocean County arrest when he was re-arrested in Bayonne on October 4, 2016 by detectives of the State Police and Bayonne Police Department, officials said.
That arrest was the result of a second NCMEC tip regarding a user who was uploading child pornography to a file sharing and storage account, which again was traced to Bann, police said.
At the time of his second arrest, Bann possessed more than 100 files of child pornography on a tablet computer and electronic storage device, according to authorities.
“Even after he already faced criminal charges for possessing child pornography, Bann went right back to uploading this filth,†Porrino said in a statement.
“These offenders go to great lengths to satisfy their deviant desires, but we will go to much greater lengths to arrest them and seek justice for the children who are tortured and exploited in the creation and distribution of these abhorrent materials.â€
As a result, Bann will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and will face parole supervision for life and a second charge of third-degree possession of child pornography stemming from the arrest in Ocean County, police said.
