Wednesday, 9 March 2022
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Vol. CXXXIV, No. 44 Don’t forget to move your clocks ahead on Sunday at 2 a.m.
BELLEVILLE n BLOOMFIELD n EAST NEWARK n HARRISON n KEARNY n LYNDHURST n NORTH ARLINGTON n NUTLEY
Homeland Security: Kearny schoolteacher arrested on child pornography charges By Kevin A. Canessa Jr.
A
kc@theobserver.com
Morris County man who is a teacher in the Kearny school district was charged Friday, March 4, 2022, with distributing videos and images of child sexual abuse, United States Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Anselmo Girimonte, 51, of Wharton, is charged by complaint with one count of distribution of child pornography. He appeared by video conference March 4 before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III and was detained. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From Dec. 27, 2021, through Jan. 17, 2022, Girimonte is alleged to have distributed material containing images and video files of child sexual abuse, via a publicly available online peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing network of linked computers. Users must download the P2P program, which is widely available for free on the Internet. The program allows users to place files into a designated “shared” folder on a hard drive, from which other P2P program users may then download those files directly to “shared” folders of their own computers. Users may then browse, search, select and directly download such files.
7-hour ordeal in Kearny ends peacefully, King says By Kevin A. Canessa Jr. kc@theobserver.com
Here’s a summary of what happened Saturday, March 5, in an incident at Webster and Passaic avenues in Kearny. According to Kearny Police Chief George King, at 8:45 a.m., Saturday, March 5, Kearny police officers were requested to check the welfare of a man inside a home near Webster and Passaic avenues. Officers and a mental health screener from Jersey City Medical Center’s Mobile Crisis Unit attempted to contact the man, but unfortunately, the man barricaded himself within the home and refused help. Information later aggregated
from several sources indicated the man may have been experiencing a mental health crisis and may have displayed a shotgun. With assistance from the Hudson County Regional SWAT Team, Kearny police officers secured a safety perimeter and communicated with the man from outside the home. Just before 3:45 p.m., the man peacefully emerged and was transported by EMS to a local hospital. No criminal charges are anticipated. There were no injuries throughout the course of the long incident. The Kearny Police Department recovered the reported shotgun.
The program typically keeps a log of each download. Law enforcement conducted an undercover online session to access the P2P program and to download nine video files containing child pornography from an IP address assigned to an internet service provider account associated with Girimonte’s residence. These files reportedly included multiple visual depictions of pre-pubescent children being sexually abused by adults. The count of distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison
and a fine of $250,000. Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina, with the investigation leading to the charges. According to his own social media, Girimonte has been an Italian teacher in the Kearny school district since 2006. Patricia Blood, Kearny’s superintendent of schools, could not comment on the case; however, she did note the teacher is on “administrative suspension,” pending the outcome of the case.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade returns to Nutley
Photo by Teddy Jao Lopez
After a one-year hiatus, Nutley’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade returned Saturday, March 5, 2022. Seen here at the parade is the St. Columcille United Gaelic Pipe Band marching along and playing. They’ll do so again this weekend when the West Hudson St. Patrick’s Day Parade returns for the first time since 2019.
see special section on page 7