Moshe Gerstein One Of 26 Arrested For "Truly Sickening" Child Porn

A New York City teacher allegedly had photos of child porn on his computer and had engaged in online chats with others about wanting to have "sex with babies," authorities said Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Joshua Ruiz is one of two dozen people -- including a corporate lawyer and a clerk at a shoe store that caters to children -- charged in Manhattan in recent weeks with having thousands of images of child porn videos and images, including some that investigators said were extremely disturbing and violent.

"These defendants stockpiled images of the brutal rapes and sexual assauilts of tens of thousands of real children," said Manhttan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. "Every time a new image is created, a child is victimized."

Ruiz worked as a substitute teacher at P.S. 199, P.S. 166, P.S. 111 and P.S. 333 since 2008. Investigators said there is no evidence any child was harmed at school.

Ruiz's lawyer said his client denies wrongdoing and he pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in Manhattan State Supreme Court.

A Department of Education spokeswoman said Ruiz "was removed from the classroom on May 4 when he was arrested. He had no prior criminal record when he was hired by DOE."

Others arrested included:

Moshe Gerstein, 35 who works as a corporate attorney at Gibson Dunn who allegedly had 5,000 images on his home computers - Miguel Caraballo, 29, who worked as a dishwasher at Alice's Tea Cup that prosecutors said caters to children - Steven Roman, 30, an employee of a children's shoe store in lower Manhattan - Sefket Jadadic, 47, a building superintendent on the Upper East Side

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents assisted in the investigation.

These cases in New York come one day after U.S. Marshals and prosecutors in upstate Sullivan County announced more than a dozen charges against convicted sex offenders who had violated the terms of their release.

Some were charged with possessing child porn while others had failed to register as sex offenders, officials said.
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A Gibson Dunn & Crutcher associate accused of being part of a group that traded images of violent sexual assaults on children was arrested as part of a wide-ranging child pornography sweep yesterday by state and federal agencies.

Moshe Gerstein, 35, was among 26 people picked up in Manhattan who traded "truly sickening" images of child sexual assault, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., said during an afternoon press conference.

There was no immediate comment from Gibson Dunn, where Mr. Gerstein works in the firm's corporate transactions practice, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and private equity deals.

Mr. Vance said the defendants stockpiled images of brutal rapes and sexual assaults of tens of thousands of children, from infants to teenagers, and swapped them like others "trade baseball cards."

Mr. Gerstein was arrested on May 10 after a search of his Manhattan home on West 60th Street pursuant to a warrant by investigators from the district attorney's office and federal Homeland Security agents. They seized three computers and an external hard drive containing some 5,000 images of child sexual assault.

Mr. Gerstein pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. The indictment included two counts of Promoting a Sexual Performance by a Child, §263.15, a Class D felony, which carries a potential prison term of up to seven years, and five counts of Possessing a Sexual Performance of a Child, §263.16, a Class E felony that carries up to four years.

His next court appearance is scheduled for June 22.

Under the relevant New York laws, "sexual performance" refers to any visual representation that includes sexual conduct—actual or simulated—by a child under 17"Promote" does not necessarily mean to publicize or advertise; it can also mean to circulate, provide or acquire.…