LAKEWOOD – A Lakewood man was sentenced to six years in state prison for distributing and attempting to make child pornography.

Anthony White, 31, pleaded guilty March 6 to those charges. He was found to have had more than 36,000 videos and images on his computer, state officials said, and was one of 40 men arrested during the “Operation Statewide” in 2016, a child pornography sweep.

Once released, he will have to register as a sex offender and be subject to parole for life.

According to the state attorney general’s office, “White admitted that he knowingly used file-sharing software to make 25 or more files of child pornography readily available for any other user to download from a ‘shared folder’ on his computer. He further admitted in connection with the attempted manufacturing charge that he tried to reproduce images of child pornography that he previously downloaded.”

Law enforcement authorities were able to download 38 videos and images from a shared folder from an IP address linked to White. A search warrant was executed in July 2016 at his home and officers found those images on a seized computer.

“We are working hard through our proactive online investigations to banish the offensive notion that viewing child pornography is somehow a victimless crime,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. “Tens of thousands of children were cruelly abused to create the videos and images in White’s collection, and he exploited and re-victimized those children by his actions.”

“By sending defendants like White to prison, we deliver the message that possessing and distributing child pornography are very serious crimes – crimes that create a market for the terrible abuse of innocent children,” Director Veronica Allende of the Division of Criminal Justice said. “This prison sentence reflects our determination to prosecute these offenders aggressively using New Jersey’s tough child pornography laws.”

“People like Anthony White care more about getting caught than they do about the innocent children who are subjected to the horrific abuses portrayed in the videos they willingly share on the internet,” Colonel Patrick Callahan of the New Jersey State Police said. “As a result of the great work by our troopers and law enforcement partners, White will remain under parole supervision for life after he serves his prison sentence.”

Anyone with information about distribution of child pornography over the internet is asked to call the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007.