Anselmo Girimonte, 53, of Wharton, had taught Italian in grades 3 through 8 in the Kearny School District since 2006, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Girimonte, previously of Madison and Bloomfield, was taken into federal custody in March 2022 after undercover investigators collected several shared video files that U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said contained "multiple visual depictions of prepubescent children being sexually abused by adults."

A search of Girimonte’s phone, seized during a raid of his home, turned up more than 100 illegal images and videos, many of which involved prepubescent children being sexually abused, the U.S. attorney said.

Rather than risk the potential outcome of a trial, Girimonte took a deal from the government, pleading guilty in federal court in Newark earlier this month to possessing and distributing child pornography.

U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for Aug. 20.

Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security HSI's New Jersey Division with the investigation leading to the arrest.

He also thanked the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, the Rockaway Township Police Department and the United States Postal Inspection Service for their assistance with the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea D. Coleman of his Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark secured the plea.

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