A 59-year-old man is accused in Bergen County of an internet sex crime that involves trying to arrange a meeting in which he could take pornographic photographs of a six-year-old girl.
The Bergen County prosecutor's office said the Valley Stream man was in contact over the internet with a person he believed was the mother of the child. The person was an undercover investigator.
The man was arrested a week ago and charged with attempting to endanger the welfare of a child and attempting to manufacture child pornography.
The man is reportedly registered as a sex offender in New York. According to media reports, he was arrested in New York back in 1999 after traveling to have sex with a 14-year-old girl.
At the time, he was also charged with possession of child pornography. However, the media reports didn't indicate what he'd been convicted of in that case.
Following his recent arrest, he was held in lieu of $250,000 bail. When released, he'll be banned from using the internet until the case is decided or the order altered.
In similar situations, suspects have been successfully defended in court because law enforcement officials were found to have lured alleged perpetrators into behavior for which they were later arrested. Sometimes investigators chat with a suspect for long periods of time and then suggest a meeting -- a meeting that results in the suspect being taken into custody and charged with serious sex crimes.
At that point, the suspect needs an experienced criminal defense attorney who can carefully examine the police investigation that led to the arrest. In many similar situations, charges must be dropped or reduced against the suspect in question.
Source: Port Washington Patch: "Crimes Nearby: Child Pornography, Weapons Arsenal And More," March 27, 2012