New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Accessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

A Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, man pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to accessing with intent to view child sexual exploitation material involving a prepubescent minor.

"The Department of Justice is committed to unmasking child predators and holding them accountable for their devastating crimes," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "Yesterday's guilty plea is another step forward in the continued fight against the evil of child sexual exploitation. As long as this threat to children remains, the Department's prosecutors and law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to hold responsible those who facilitate the supply as well as the demand."

"Yesterday's guilty plea is a bittersweet victory, as it acknowledges the victimization of the children depicted in the materials the offender possessed," said Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy of the FBI's Newark Field Office. "The FBI will continue its relentless quest to identify and stop those who abuse and exploit children."

According to court documents, Abhishek Vijayakumar, 43, knowingly accessed the illicit material in March 2024. Law enforcement subsequently discovered more than 200 images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including imagery of an approximately three-year-old child being sexually abused by an adult male, when reviewing his electronic devices.

Vijayakumar faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 6, 2027. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

FBI Newark is investigating the case and received valuable assistance from the Bergen County (New Jersey) Prosecutor's Office Cyber Crimes Unit.

Trial Attorney Jessica L. Urban of the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.