A Red Bank man who pleaded guilty to federal child pornography possession charges earlier this year was sentenced to more than eight years in prison Tuesday, authorities said in an announcement.
James Paroline, 28, who worked as a camp counselor for 10 summers at the Ranney School in Tinton Falls, was sentenced to 97 months in prison, according to a statement released by Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick.
U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson, sitting in Trenton, also sentenced Paroline to 10 years of post-release supervision.
In February, Paroline admitted downloading sexually explicit videos and images of children to his home computer in early 2015.
From the announcement:
Paroline was employed in Monmouth County as an assistant at a nursery school and as a summer camp counselor at a private school. Between Feb. 26, 2015, and March 2, 2015, Paroline accessed a website known as “PlayPen,” an underground online bulletin board and website dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography. During that period, Paroline logged into PlayPen under the username “jimbobtropolis,” which he had registered with PlayPen using his personal email address, and downloaded multiple videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children from the website.
Authorities did not identify either the nursery school or the private school where Paroline, of Pearl Street, had been employed. But Ranney Head of School John Griffith confirmed last July that Paroline worked at the Hope Road institution “each summer since 2005, as a junior counselor, counselor and this summer as a sports specialist “essentially working with kids on the field and in the gym on sports activities,” the Asbury Park Press reported last July. The camp serves children aged 3 to 13.
The name of the nursery school has not been disclosed.
An FBI complaint filed in the case said that Paroline, after waiving his Miranda rights, told the agents that “he has inappropriately touched minor children” while employed as a teacher and camp counselor.
