Leader of NJ child porn ring sentenced to 20 years in prison

📱 A Morris County man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison

📱 He started a child pornography ring as a teenager

📱 Officials said he also sexually assaulted numerous teen victims

MORRISTOWN — A 20-year-old man who pleaded guilty to a number of sex crimes may spend the next half of his life wasting away in state prison.

Ruben Gonzalez, of Morristown, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison on Friday, Sept. 29, according to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

He pleaded guilty in April to nine counts of second-degree sexual assault, 25 counts of third-degree invasion of privacy, and one count each of second-degree leading a child pornography network and second-degree child endangerment.

Gonzalez was first charged in December 2021. At the time, prosecutors accused him of sexually assaulting at least four teenage victims between the ages of 14 and 18 years old.

When investigators searched his phone, they found videos of young teens engaged in sexual activity.

(Morris County Prosecutor's Office via Facebook)

Gonzalez had secretly recorded his victims engaging in sexual activity using the "screen record" function on his phone. The victims were unaware they were being recorded. He then shared the videos with other people.

The prosecutor's office in June 2022 added new charges including more counts of sexual assault and leading a child pornography network. He was taken into custody on June 22, 2022 and held in custody at Morris County jail.

Now Gonzalez is going to state prison. He will be ineligible for parole for ten years and must register as a sex offender under Megan's Law.

Windfarm projects proposed for NJ coast — and what they might look like

These are the wind energy projects approved for and planned for the ocean off the coasts of New Jersey and New York. While the projects have the support of officials who say they will stimulate the local economy and create renewable energy to power millions of homes, many coastal residents have raised concerns about how the projects will impact tourism and the environment.

The gallery includes competing photosimulations — those on file with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and those recently commissioned by a group opposed to the wind farm development.

Gallery Credit: New Jersey 101.5

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom