New Jersey Man Sentenced To 25 Years For Production Of Child Pornography

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jose Colon, age 52, of Bloomfield, New Jersey, was sentenced on May 19, 2026, to 300 months in prison by United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion for three counts of production of child pornography and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, Colon communicated with multiple minor victims who he then enticed into creating images of themselves engaged in sexually explicit activity and then directed the children to send those images to him via cellphone. At the time that the Department of Homeland Security executed a search warrant for Colon's cellular devices in 2024, Colon, who was a convicted felon and prohibited possessor, was additionally in possession of multiple illegal firearms, including a stolen handgun.

"Homeland Security Investigations remains steadfast in our commitment to protecting children from those who seek to exploit their vulnerability for personal gain," said HSI Philadelphia Acting Special Agent in Charge Nathan Abel. "This sentence is a result of HSI's relentless pursuit to prosecute predators who manipulate and coerce minors into illegal acts, and we will use every resource at our disposal to bring them to justice. Most importantly, our efforts in this case provided an opportunity to rescue five young victims and ensure they are no longer subject to this abuse. The safety and well-being of our nation's children will always be our top priority."

The Department of Homeland Security and the Stroud Area Regional Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Luisa Honora Berti is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.usdoj.gov/psc.Links to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link.

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