79 New Jersey Arrests Made On Child Pornography Charges, Including Youth Minister

New Jersey police announced Friday that 79 arrests were made under charges of alleged child exploitation.

During a nine-month operation known as, Operation Saftey Net, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced the arrests of 79 people including a youth minister and two juveniles. The age range of those accused is 14-75.

“The men we arrested lurked in the shadows of the internet and social media, looking for opportunities to sexually assault young children or to view such unspeakable assaults by sharing child pornography,” said Porrino in a statement Friday.

Ten men received hands-on predatory charges which included, attempted interstate trafficking of children for sex, sexual assault, luring, sending obscene images to a child, or manufacturing child pornography. Operation Safety Net used a wide range of tactics to crack down on predators, including "new mobile forensics lab and electronics-sniffing dog," to fulfill their main mission: the overall protection of children.

"We’re even better equipped to uncover the evidence that will keep these offenders behind bars, where they cannot threaten or further exploit vulnerable victims," said Porrino.

Arrests were made state-wide, which included the areas of Bergen County, Passaic County, Essex County, Hudson County, Morris County and Sussex County. One of the arrests was of 22-year-old youth minister Michael Deblock. The youth minister was arrested by Sussex Count Police in October for possession of children pornography and sending graphic material to a child.

Other arrests were made when predators were found in online chatrooms in attempt to lure children. Robert Elmi, 63, was arrested in November after an undercover detective, posed as a 13-year-old, was offered by Elmi to meet at a local diner to be taken back to his apartment to later perform oral sex on one another.

Porrino added in his statement, "If you're lurking in a chat room looking to exploit a child, our investigators are lurking alongside you."