Bilski to appeal guilty verdict in sex abuse case
Ocean Twp. resident Clement Bilski faces 1,940-year prison term
BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer
An attorney said he plans to appeal the recent jury verdict that found an Ocean Township handyman guilty on 143 counts of sexual abuse to a young girl.

Clement Bilski was convicted on March 12 by a 12-member jury in Superior Court in Freehold and faces 1,940 years behind bars if the maximum penalties for the crimes are upheld.

Bilski's attorney, John Goins of Elizabeth, said he plans to review the records from his client's trial before the appeal is filed.

"There will be an appeal," Goins said last week. "We are personally reviewing the pretrial and trial in order to give a proper recommendation as to what the appellate issues are."

Goins said he does not know what date the appeal will be filed and refused to comment further on the case.

Bilski, 45, of Maple Street in Ocean Township, appeared in Superior Court Judge Paul F. Chaiet's chambers during a twoweek trial on charges stemming from the sexual abuse of a girl from the time she was 2 years old to 6 years old.

Bilski, a contractor, was found guilty of sexually abusing the daughter of one of his clients while he was working as a handyman at their house, according to police reports.

Bilski was found guilty on 143 counts in connection with the crimes that occurred from 1998 through 2003.

Bilski is scheduled to appear before Chaiet in Freehold for sentencing onMay 30.

Bilski was convicted on several charges, including 52 counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, 15 counts of second-degree sexual assault, 74 counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, one count of third-degree promoting obscene material, and one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

"Justice was served today by the conviction of Clement Bilski Jr.," Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin said in a press release from his office.

"The defendant will now face the full sanction of the criminal justice system for his egregious and abusive acts," Valentin said.

Bilski was originally indicted on 429 counts for sexually abusing 10 children, ranging in age from 23 months to 8 years old, throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties, according to police reports.

Bilski will be tried on the remaining indictments following the completion of his sentencing hearing, Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Peter Warshaw said last week.

All 143 counts of which Bilski was convicted relate to the same female victim who was sexually abused by Bilski over the course of five years, according to the press release.

Bilski would gain access to the child through the use of his home contracting service, which ran under the names Bilski Home Improvement, Bilco Home Improvement and J&Z Construction, according to reports.

Bilski would frequently videotape, edit and save instances of the abuse for use in a private collection, according to reports.

During the two-week trial, the 12- member jury composed of nine females and three men was shown several hours of the homemade videotapes that Bilski had amassed over the years, according to reports.

"The thinking was that the state has the obligation to prove every element of the criminal evidence beyond a reasonable doubt," Warshaw said about the presentation of the tapes in the courtroom.

In addition to videotaping the abuses, Bilski also hid several cameras in his customers' bedrooms and bathrooms to videotape them in various states of undress, according to reports.

Valentin said that he wanted to thank the jurors for performing their civic duties during the trial.

"Their verdict was carefully considered and just," Valentin said.

"It is our hope that the victim's family can take some measure of solace in knowing that their cooperation and participation in the defendant's prosecution has ensured that Clement Bilski Jr. will never again harm another child," Valentin said.

Authorities were first made aware of Bilski when an agent from the Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force discovered that he was sharing a video on the Internet that depicted the sexual abuse of children, ac- cording to reports.

Officials from the Maryland State Police subsequently contacted the New Jersey State Police to report the incident.

An investigation into the link between Bilski and the distribution of the video allowed investigators to obtain a search warrant for Bilski's private residence.

Bilski was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child for manufacturing the videos in which he engaged in sexual acts with children.

Bilski was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child for possessing the videos, according to reports.

A joint task force was subsequently formed between the New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit, The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Sex Crimes and Computer Crimes Units, The New Jersey Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory, and police from the Ocean Township, Long Branch and West Long Branch police departments.

The force worked together to identify the children in Bilski's tapes, according to reports, which state that 10 victims on the tapes were identified as a result of the joint effort.

The most serious instances of sexual abuse involved various types of sexual penetration of six female victims under the age of 13, according to reports.