Whiting man pleads guilty to child porn distribution on Wednesday

A Whiting man may spend five years in state prison when sentenced October 11 after pleading guilty Wednesday to distributing child porn in the second degree.

Under a plea agreement the state is looking for a five-year prison term for 55-year old Bruce Davis of Whiting which would come with two and a half years of probation ineligibility upon his October sentencing.

Davis would also have to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law and be subject to lifetime parole supervision.

In pleading guilty Davis admits to making child porn videos available online to download through a file sharing folder on his computer.

Investigators found nearly 100 child porn videos and images at two IP computer addresses linked to Davis before his arrest on August 15 of 2016 where they seized a number of devices at his home including a laptop.

When detectives arrived Davis was using the laptop to download child porn.

"Bruce Davis was a purveyor of more than a hundred videos of abuse, cruelty, and sexual assault of innocent child victims," said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. "I commend our detectives from the Digital Technology Investigations Unit for their diligent efforts during this investigation, which will put Davis behind bars."

Davis and 39-other offenders were arrested last year in "Operation Statewide", a child porn sweep administered by the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which includes the New Jersey State Police, Division of Criminal Justice, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, and numerous state, county and local law enforcement agencies.

"As Davis has learned, those who promote the cruel exploitation of children by viewing and sharing child pornography online are going to find themselves viewing and sharing the inside of a prison cell," said New Jersey Attorney General Chris Porrino. "We'll continue to crack down on these offenders and the abhorrent materials they traffic through sweeps like Operation Statewide."

Porrino and Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice, urge anyone with information about distribution of child pornography on the Internet - or about suspected improper contact by unknown persons communicating with children via the Internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children - to please contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007.

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