Episode 121: Joe Paglione and Mike Castaldo, Internet Crimes Against Children
Sergeant Joe Paglione
Detective Mike Castaldo
On this episode, Karen speaks with Sergeants Joe Paglione and Mike Castaldo, supervisors of the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, which is part of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office located in Trenton, NJ. Sergeants Paglione and Castaldo are here to share the service that their Unit provides to child victims and to educate listeners regarding resources should you have concerns regarding a loved one being impacted by internet crimes.
Sergeant Joe Paglione began his law enforcement career in 2001. After graduation from the Trenton Police Academy he began working with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office assigned to the Mercer County Airport. In 2003, Sergeant Paglione was hired by the Ewing Township Police Department where he worked in the Patrol Division for the next five years. In 2008, Sergeant Paglione transferred to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
Upon Transferring to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, he was assigned to the Trial and Grand Jury Units. After approximately one year, Sergeant Paglione was assigned to the Special Victims Unit as a on call Detective. After two years, he was transferred to the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force where he remained for the next eight years. In 2018, Sergeant Paglione was transferred to the Mercer County Homicide Task where he remained until being promoted to the rank of Sergeant in May, 2019. Once promoted, Sergeant Paglione was tasked with supervising the Special Victims, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC), Megan’s Law and Human trafficking Units. Sergeant Paglione remains in this role.
During his time with the Special Victims and Narcotics Units, Sergeant Paglione has been the lead Detective on multiple high profile Sexual Assault and drug investigations to include being involved in several multi state wire-tap investigations.
Sergeant Paglione has received multiple awards and citations during the course of his career which include the New Jersey State PBA Valor Award Citation in 2007 and the Distinguished Recognition Citation in 2019. Sergeant Paglione teaches Sexual Assault Investigations at the Mercer County Police Academy and has also testified several times in Superior Court as an expert witness in the field of narcotics.
Detective Mike Castaldo began his career at the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office at the age of 19. In November 1998, he was assigned to the Records Section, as a vault clerk, and later to the Megan’s Law Unit as a systems analyst. In December 2006, Detective Castaldo graduated from the DCJ Academy where he earned the academic award for his graduating class.
Upon graduating from the academy, Detective Castaldo was assigned to the Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit. In April 2007, Detective Castaldo was assigned to the Domestic Violence Unit while also maintaining an on-call role for the Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit. In November 2007, Detective Castaldo was assigned back to the Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit as his primary assignment, where he remained as an on-call detective for the next several years. In February 2011, Detective Castaldo was assigned to the Special Investigations Unit/Mercer County Narcotics Task Force where he remained until June 2016 when he was transferred to the Mercer County Homicide Task Force.
During his time in his assignments, Detective Castaldo has led several high-profile homicide and sexual assault cases, as well as being involved in narcotics wiretap investigations. Detective Castaldo served as Vice President of PBA Local 339 from May 2017 until July 2019. Detective Castaldo has received numerous awards and certificates for his work, including being named Detective of the Year for 2019.
In August 2020, Detective Castaldo was promoted to Officer in Charge, and assigned to co-supervise the Special Victims Unit, Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, Megan’s Law Unit, and the Human Trafficking Unit.
In April of 2021, Officer in Charge Castaldo was promoted to Sergeant, while maintaining his duties in the Special Victims Unit, Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, Megan’s Law Unit and Human Trafficking Unit.
In April of 2021, Sergeant Castaldo was temporarily transferred to the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force.
In September 2021, Sergeant Castaldo was transferred back to the Special Victims Unit, Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, Megan’s Law Unit and Human Trafficking Unit where he remains.