New Jersey man sentenced for distributing child porn, asking two children to engage in sexually explicit conduct

A New Jersey man, who engaged in an elaborate and heinous scheme of collecting and distributing child porn images and videos as well as trying to get two children to take part in sexually explicit conduct online, is on his way to prison for a long time.

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced Tuesday that Christopher Gardiner, 39, of Cranford, Union County, who previously pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of distributing child pornography and two counts of online enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual conduct, has been sentenced to 250-months, or about 21-years, in prison.

Between March of 2018 and June of 2018, Attorney Sellinger said that Gardiner posted several videos online in a chatroom that showed the sexual abuse of children.

He also sent similar deplorable videos to an undercover agent, directly.

When they had enough to arrest Gardiner, at his home in August of 2018, authorities uncovered an unknown amount of child sexual abuse images and videos on his electronic devices.

This was not his first offense related to this type of crime.

Attorney Sellinger said that Gardiner was previously convicted in 2007, in Union County, of endangering the welfare of a child/distribution of child pornography.

When he gets out of prison in about 21-years at about 60-years old, Gardiner will also be under five years of supervised release, and must also register as a sex offender.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Barnes of the U.S. Attorney’s Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: Michael B. Campagna Esq., Elizabeth, New Jersey.