NJ County Busted 97 For Sex Crimes Against Children In 5 Months: Prosecutor

ATLANTIC COUNTY, NJ — Ninety-seven people in one New Jersey county have been charged with offenses related to the sexual abuse of children since June, according to authorities. The crimes range from sexual assault to failure to keep law enforcement up-to-date on information vital to sex-offender registries, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

Since June, law enforcement throughout Atlantic County has charged 70 people with such offenses, including sexual assault, child luring and endangering a child by sexual contact. Eighteen county residents were charged with violating various conditions of Megan's Law, including failure to register or report a change in address, the prosecutor's office said.

"It is often difficult to identify and charge offenders in these types of cases because they often operate in the shadows and there are rarely third-party witnesses," said Altantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds. "A child’s courage in telling law enforcement what happened is critical. The detective work in gathering evidence after a child discloses is often the key to making the case."

Over the past six months, the prosecutor's office made it a "primary focus" to "aggressively pursue" those who harm children. Reynolds credited the office's Crimes Against Children Unit, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Megan’s Law Unit, along with partner agencies for their efforts.

Parents, caregivers and teachers should be aware of the ways predators reach young people online, according to the FBI. The federal agency most often sees crimes against children beginning when an adult:

• forges a relationship with a young victim online and then later arranges to meet and abuse the child, or
• coerces a child into producing sexually explicit images or videos through manipulation, gifts or threats — a crime called sexual extortion.

Last April, the FBI's Newark branch warned of increasing reports of sexual extortion involving teenage-boy victims throughout the state. "Sextortion" typically begins with contact through social media or another online platform. The offender then convinces the victim to share sexual images or videos, threatening to post them unless the victim sends more photos or money. The recent increase mainly targeted boys ages 14-17, according to the local FBI office.

The most important advice for parents is to have open and ongoing conversations with their children about safe, appropriate online behavior, the FBI says. The agency also provides the following guidance:

• Educate yourself about the websites, software, games and apps that your children use.
• Check their social media and gaming profiles and posts. Have conversations about what is appropriate to say or share.
• Explain to your kids that once images or comments are posted online, they can be shared with anyone and never truly disappear.
• Make sure your kids use privacy settings to restrict access to their online profiles.
• Tell your children to be wary when communicating with anyone online who they do not know in real life.
• Encourage kids to choose appropriate screen names and create strong passwords.
• Make it a rule with your kids that they can't arrange to meet up with someone they met online without your knowledge and supervision.
• Stress to your children that making any kind of threat online — even if they think it's a joke—is a crime.
• Report any inappropriate contact between an adult and your child to law enforcement immediately. Notify the site they were using, too.