Hamilton Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing Child Over the Course of Three Years
- Admits Videotaping the Sexual Acts -

TRENTON - A Hamilton Township man pleaded guilty today to a one-count Information charging him with sexually abusing a child over a period of three years and videotaping the acts, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr., announced.

Stanley J. Chojnowski, 39, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Garrett E. Brown, Jr., who scheduled sentencing for May 4. Judge Brown continued Chojnowski's detention without bail pending sentencing.

Chojnowski has been in continuous custody since his arrest on Aug. 28, 2007, by investigators with the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office and detectives with the Hamilton Township Police Department. Chojnowski was later transferred to federal custody after a federal criminal Complaint was signed on Feb. 27, 2008.
According to the Complaint, Chojnowski was a former co-worker of the victim's deceased mother and befriended the surviving family, which included an older brother and grandmother.

At his plea hearing, Chojnowski admitted that beginning as early as July 2004, when the male victim was 6 years old, and continuing through August 2007, he engaged in multiple sexual acts with the child, during which he created visual depictions of the victim engaged in multiple sexual acts.

Chojnowski admitted that on at least three separate occasions, he transported the child across state lines for the purpose of committing sexual acts with the child and videotaping that conduct. Specifically, Chojnowski admitted transporting the victim from New Jersey to New York and Maryland in July 2004 and from New Jersey to Florida in August 2006 with the intent to engage in sexual acts with the victim.

In August 2007, the victim, who had turned 9 years old, disclosed the sexual abuse to family members, according to the Complaint.

While Judge Brown has wide discretion and will consult the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines in determining an actual sentence, the federal statue to which Chojnowski pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 30 years. Therefore, if the Court accepts Chojnowski's guilty plea, the defendant cannot be sentenced to a lesser term of imprisonment.

Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Marra credited Special Agents of the FBI's Newark Field Office's Innocent Images Unit, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun, in Newark; Investigators with the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini, Jr.; and the Hamilton Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief James W. Collins, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacqueline M. Carle and Kevin T. Smith of the U.S. Attorney's Criminal Division in Camden.

Defense Attorney: Maggie Moy, Esq. Assistant Federal Public Defender