Forty people from 37 towns in all 21 N.J. counties — including current and former school employees — were nabbed in a statewide child porn ring this week, according to authorities.

Of the 40 arrested, 37 have been charged with distribution of these images as well as possession. A number of seized computers each had more than 1,000 juvenile pornographic images and videos stored on them; one had more than 76,000 files, the State Police announced Thursday. Members of the N.J. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force say at least one person has been charged in each of New Jersey's 21 counties as part of "Operation Statewide."

The 40 suspects face charges such as possession of child pornography and distribution of images and videos depicting children engaged in sexual activities. The Operation Statewide law enforcement team, led by New Jersey State Police detectives, followed the digital fingerprint of known images of child porn as they were being sent and received over file sharing networks to specific computers, according to a release from the State Police.

Internet addresses were traced to street addresses and detectives from partnering agencies knocked on the doors of many surprised defendants, one of whom was in the process of downloading child porn images. "These offenders, by their actions, contribute in a very real and direct way to the cruel exploitation of innocent children, and that is why we remain tireless in our efforts to protect children by locking up these criminals," said Attorney General Christopher Porrino.

Twenty of those arrested have already been charged with possession of 100 or more items based on on-site forensic previews of computer media. Those defendants, should they be convicted, will be subject to that statutory presumption of imprisonment. Nine men were so far charged with distributing 25 or more images based on the same previews. They could be facing a mandatory minimum of five years without parole in state prison if convicted, and thorough forensic examinations of seized media could place more defendants in this category, police said. Those arrested were from 20 to 72 years old. The defendants include a former teacher who taught in Delran, Bristol Twp., Pa., and Philadelphia; factory workers; an accountant; computer professionals; construction workers; salesmen; food service workers; and a custodian in the Long Branch School District. A large percentage are unemployed and two men are undocumented non-citizens. The following is a list of those arrested in Operation Statewide: