Ocean County Man Sentenced to 168 Months in Prison for Sexually Exploiting Minors

TRENTON, N.J. - An Ocean County, New Jersey man was sentenced on December 2, 2025, to 168 months in prison for receiving videos and images depicting child pornography, Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello announced.

Daniel Nilla, 37, of Brick, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with three counts of receipt of child pornography.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Between December 2021 and April 2023, Nilla communicated with at least five minor victims on a multimedia instant messaging application. He knew the victims were minors when he communicated with them. During the communications, Nilla directed the victims to send him images and videos of themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct, which Nilla used for his sexual gratification.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Shipp sentenced Nilla to ten years of supervised release.

Senior Counsel Lamparello credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, with the investigation. Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello also thanked special agents of the FBI Kansas City, Kansas Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stephen A. Cyrus, and the City of Edwardsville, Kansas Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Rance Quinn.

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

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Belgiovine of the Criminal Division in Trenton.

###

Defense counsel: Steven Cappetta, Esq.