N.J. contractor charged with more than 420 counts of child porn

NEWARK, N.J. -- A self-employed contractor was indicted Friday on hundreds of child sex assault and child pornography counts after authorities said he spent years molesting children and recording them while he worked at their homes.

Clement Bilski Jr., 43, is accused of preying on at least 11 girls and boys, the oldest just 8 years old, between 1998 and 2005.

"The depravity in this case has no boundaries," Monmouth prosecutor Luis Valentin said.

Working as a carpenter and handyman, Bilski abused the children in their own homes, often while caretakers were elsewhere in the houses, then offered them toys and candy to stay quiet, Valentin said.

He used ropes and handcuffs to detain children, videotaped himself abusing them and showed pornographic photos and videos to at least two of them, the prosecutor said. The suspect also secretly videotaped children "in various states of undress," Valentin said.

Bilski was charged in the grand jury indictment with 74 counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, 30 counts of second-degree aggravated sexual assault and 295 counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child by the manufacture of child pornography. He also faces charges of criminal restraint, weapons possession and endangering the welfare of a child.

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the sexual assault charges. Bail was set at $1 million.

Bilski was arrested in April after Maryland State Police reported that a computer traced to Bilski was sharing child pornography over the Internet, Valentin said.

Until the indictment Friday, he had been held in a county jail on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and distribution and possession of child pornography.

Bilski's job allowed him to get into homes where he could watch and abuse children from vantage points unseen by parents and other caregivers, Valentin said.

It was not immediately clear if Bilski had an attorney.

Neighbor Bud Mandeville told The Star-Ledger of Newark that he has known Bilski for 15 years and had considered him to be kind and considerate.

"Never in a million years would I think he would do what he did," he said. "He was a good friend. It's sad. It's terrible what he did to the families and it's terrible what he did to himself."