Prosecutor: Gym Teacher Uploaded Child Porn At School, Ran Pot 'Grow House' At Home

A gym teacher and head wrestling coach at a North Jersey middle school has been arrested for possession of child pornography and operating a major marijuana grow house at his home.

Justin W. Bozinta, 37, of Roselle, was arrested Friday, Feb. 13 at his home. Bozinta is a gym teacher at Costley Middle School in East Orange. He has been charged with third degree possession of child pornography and a first degree drug charge for operating a marijuana production facility, the Attorney General reports

Bozinta has worked in the East Orange School District since 2000.

“It’s appalling that a man entrusted with instructing and mentoring young students as a teacher and coach allegedly was dealing drugs and sexually exploiting children by viewing child pornography online,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman.

The investigation revealed that Bozinta allegedly used a computer on school property to upload several images of child pornography to a Google+ photo account.

Detectives executed a search warrant at Bozinta’s Sheridan Ave. home on Feb. 13 as part of an ongoing child pornography investigation.

While executing the search warrant, Detectives conducted a preliminary examination of an external computer hard drive and allegedly found several images of child pornography.

“For a teacher to engage in those crimes, which drive so much harm and abuse of children, is a shocking betrayal,” Hoffman added. “Fortunately, we were able to uncover the dark side of Bozinta’s life and eliminate the danger he potentially posed to students.”

>> More Stories: Somerset County Man Jailed for Distributing Child Pornography

The investigation allegedly linked Bozinta to the email account used to upload the images. The investigation began with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which indicated that the images were uploaded from an Internet Protocol (IP) address in a school district facility using the email account later traced to Bozinta.

Two laptop computers, including a Mac Book Pro issued to Bozinta by the school district, were seized from his home, along with other computer equipment.

In addition, a desktop computer to which Bozinta had access in the high school athletic office was turned over to investigators on Feb. 13 in response to a subpoena.

All of the computer equipment will be the subject of full forensic examinations at the New Jersey Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory.

Major ‘Grow Room’ Found at Bozinta’s Roselle Home

While executing the search warrant, detectives found a major “grow room” in Bozinta’s home equipped with a special ventilation system, high-powered lights and chemicals to encourage plant growth.

Approximately 40 growing marijuana plants were found, along with packaging materials.

The first-degree charge of operating a marijuana production facility carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison, including a mandatory period of parole ineligibility of one-third to one-half of the sentence imposed, and a fine of up to $750,000.

The charge applies to production of marijuana if it involves more than five pounds of marijuana or more than 10 marijuana plants. Bozinta also is charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana within 500 feet of a public park, and possession of marijuana.

In addition, Bozinta is charged with second-degree possession of a weapon in the course of committing a drug offense, because numerous guns were seized in his home.

The detectives and officers seized seven handguns, four rifles, a shotgun and a homemade silencer. Bozinata was charged with possession of a prohibited device, a fourth-degree offense, in connection with the silencer.

After his arrest, Bozinta was processed at the Roselle Police Headquarters and lodged in the Union County Jail with bail set at $275,000, full cash required.

“Our investigation is ongoing and we will continue to follow all leads to expose the full scope of Bozinta’s alleged drug dealing and involvement with child pornography,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice.

“He already faces a first-degree drug charge carrying a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison, but it is critical that we determine if others were involved and whether his conduct impacted students in the district,” Honig added. “We urge anyone with information to contact us confidentially.”

Acting Attorney General Hoffman and Director Honig urged anyone who might have additional information related to this case to contact the Division of Criminal Justice confidentially at its toll-free tip line 1-866-TIPS-4CJ.

Additionally, members of the public can log on to the Division of Criminal Justice webpage at www.njdcj.org to report information confidentially.

Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Any sentence imposed for the second-degree charge of possession of a weapon in the course of committing a drug offense must be served consecutively to the sentences imposed for any of the drug offenses.

Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000, while fourth-degree charges carry a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

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