Somerset County

A Dozen Alleged Child Predators Arrested in NJ Sting Operation: Prosecutors

The accused range in ages from 26 to 46 years old and include warehouse workers, the vice president of a financial institution and a software engineer, among others.

What to Know

  • Twelve alleged child predators were arrested for attempting to lure children for sex following a sting operation spearheaded by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
  • The accused allegedly used social media and chat apps to arrange for sex with underage girls and boys, but instead they communicated with undercover officers posing as children.
  • The accused range in ages from 26 to 46 years old and include warehouse workers, the vice president of a financial institution and a software engineer, among others.

Twelve alleged child predators were arrested for attempting to lure children for sex following a sting operation spearheaded by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

The accused allegedly used social media and chat apps to arrange for sex with underage girls and boys, but instead they communicated with undercover officers posing as children.

Most of the accused were arrested when they arrived at three pre-arranged undercover houses in Somerset County staffed with dozens of law enforcement officers as part of "Operation Spotlight," according to prosecutors.

According to Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson, “Operation Spotlight” was a multi-agency undercover operation that sought individuals using social media applications to lure underage girls and boys for sexual activity. The accused arrested in this operation initiated contact based on profiles posted by the undercover law enforcement officers on various social media platforms. Once chatting began, the undercover officers clearly identified themselves as underage girls or boys.  Despite that information, the defendants engaged the “children” in conversations about sex and made arrangements to meet the “children” for sex.

The arrests in the sting operation were made over a four-day period from Oct.15 through Oct. 18.  Three defendants travelled to New Jersey from Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut with the intention of meeting with a “child’ for sex, according to prosecutors. The alleged predators are faced with varying charges ranging from first degree promoting prostitution of a child under the age of 18, to second-degree attempted luring, second-degree attempted sexual assault of a minor, and third-degree attempted endangering the welfare by debauching the morals of a child. 

According to officials, the accused will be either prosecuted by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office or federally by the United States Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey.

The accused range in ages from 26 to 46 years old and include warehouse workers, the vice president of a financial institution and a software engineer, among others.

The joint operation which was hosted by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office would not have been successful without the direct collaboration of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Victims Squad, Newark Field Office, Albany New York Field Office and Philadelphia Field Office along with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. 

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