Capasso's former girlfriend gets 12-year prison term

CAMDEN - The former girlfriend of celebrity chef Alex Capasso has received a 12-year prison term for her role in the sexual exploitation of two children, including her young niece.

Janine Kelley, 36, of Audubon faced a potential maximum sentence of 30 years, but got a "very substantial reduction" because she cooperated with investigators, U.S. District Judge Jerome Simandle said during an almost four-hour hearing Friday.

He also noted support from Kelley's family, including the niece's mother who described Kelley as another of Capasso's victims.

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Authorities said Capasso and Kelley repeatedly photographed sexual abuse of the girl and a young boy from November 2011 until October 2012. The activity came to light when the Collingswood man offered to share pornographic pictures of the children with an undercover investigator in July 2015, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey.

At Friday's hearing, the girl's mother tearfully said Kelley, who is her sister, "was manipulated and threatened" by Capasso, whom she called "a monster."

"I continue to pray every day that she receives the help that she needs and that the pain goes away," the mother said.

Kelley's public defender, Christopher O'Malley, said his client suffered physical and psychological abuse from Capasso, who received a 20-year prison term from Simandle on Wednesday.

O'Malley said Kelley, a nurse who has lost her license, was "by all accounts a loving, doting mother" when she left her marriage to pursue a destructive relationship with Capasso.

"He beat her  … he raped her," said O'Malley. "He was a first-rate misogynist and treated her worse than any pimp would treat a prostitute."

Simandle acknowledged Kelley's statements that Capasso had threatened to kill her and to harm her family if she went to police.

"She had to overcome that fear in order to cooperate" with investigators, the judge said.

But he also noted Kelley's fear did not stop her from rekindling the relationship with Capasso in 2015 after he had broken it off two years earlier.

"She invited him back into her life," said the judge.

Kelley, who sobbed upon entering the courtroom and repeatedly dabbed at tears, said she was still working to comprehend her behavior.

"I don't understand it and I'm trying every day," said Kelley, who wore a tan prison uniform and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Why didn't I run?" she asked. "Why didn't I seek help?"

"I made a choice every day," she added, 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Carrig said Kelley "deserves a break" for her cooperation, but said her "morally bankrupt" and "reprehensible conduct" called for a 15-year prison sentence.

She noted the children were abused while in Kelley's care, and that Kelley often photographed the youngsters without Capasso being present.

Carrig also observed Kelley, with a history of drug and alcohol abuse after a difficult childhood, was in therapy at the time of the children's exploitation, but never mentioned Capasso or their activities during the sessions.

The prosecutor flipped the defense argument that, without Capasso's influence, Kelley's crime would not have occurred.

"But for Janine Kelley in Capasso's life, these two children would not have been abused," said Carrig.

Simandle echoed that view in announcing his sentence.

"Ms. Kelley was in a position to protect the children and instead she exploited them," said the judge. "She exploited them because she was weak."

"She complied with demands of his that no mother, no person, should ever have complied with," he said.

Both Capasso and Kelley pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to sexually exploit children. They have been in federal custody since their arrests in July 2015.

Investigators found "hundreds and hundreds" of alleged child-porn images in Capasso's Collingswood home, including pictures of the two children, authorities said. They alleged Capasso planned to travel to Washington, D.C., to sexually assault an investigator's purported 9-year-old daughter.

At Friday's hearing, Simandle ordered Kelley to have no future contact with Capasso and to have 10 years of supervised release after ending her prison term.

The judge also acknowledged Kelley's apparent progress in improving her mental health.

"In the future, a lot more will define you and your life than this crime you've committed," he told the weeping defendant.

At the same time, Simandle said: "The suffering that she's caused doesn't end with today's sentencing. The suffering will continue."

JIm Walsh: @jwalsh_cp; 856-486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com

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