Little Egg Police Chief Issues Warning About Sex Offender After Judge Releases Him

LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NJ — "As your chief and a fellow parent, I could not sleep tonight if I did not say something to families about being particularly careful regarding their children’s whereabouts and welfare at this time. I beg you to do so, particularly now."

Those are the chilling words that close a warning from Little Egg Harbor Township Police Chief Richard J. Buzby Jr. on the police department's website and Facebook page. Buzby issued the warning on Wednesday about a convicted sex offender who was arrested recently on charges that he had attempted to assault another child, but, Buzby said, was released back to the community as a result of New Jersey's new bail reform, over the objections of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Christopher Wilson, 20, was arrested Jan. 19 on charges of attempted sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor's office. He is accused of trying to trade a gaming system for sexual favors, Della Fave said.

The child in question is a 12-year-old girl, according to a report on NJ.com. Wilson allegedly approached her as she got off a school bus, according to the report.

Wilson was required to register under Megan's Law after a 2009 incident, Della Fave said. But because Wilson was 13 at the time, information about that incident has not been released.

Wilson was arrested and charged and held without bail under the new bail reform act, Della Fave said. But on Wednesday, Wilson was released after Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels found no reason for him to be held and rejected requests from the prosecutor's office to hold him, according to NJ.com. Appeals to the appellate court and the state Supreme Court were turned down, the report said. Wilson was ordered to stay away from the girl and to wear a GPS bracelet, NJ.com said.

Buzby, who did not name Wilson, expressed frustration that Wilson had been allowed back into the community despite his past history and frustration over the Megan's Law process, which had prevented authorities from notifying the community about his presence.

The text of Buzby's warning reads:

"For some time a sex offender who has targeted children in the past has lived in this community in close proximity to many family residences, school bus stops and other points of interest to children. Despite the best efforts of the county prosecutor’s office and this agency to the contrary, the current state of Megan’s Law is such that this particular community cannot be notified until the sex offender rating process is completed and a tier is established that will allow such a notification. A determination that would have allowed such notification was reached by the prosecutor’s office but that matter is under appeal and, once again, the notification must be delayed."

"There is, at present, an allegation that this subject has re-offended with a local child. An arrest has been made and all appropriate charges have been filed but the new bail reform protocol has determined that he does not present a threat and he was released by a superior court judge this afternoon. Because of our perceived threat to other children and our continued inability to notify parents this matter has been taken under immediate appeal by the prosecutor. Once again, despite the prosecutor’s best efforts, trial court and appellate court stays have been denied and this person will apparently remain in our community until the matter progresses further.

"As your chief and a fellow parent, I could not sleep tonight if I did not say something to families about being particularly careful regarding their children’s whereabouts and welfare at this time. I beg you to do so, particularly now. Rest assured, we are working with the county prosecutor’s office nonstop to rectify this matter as fast as we humanly can."

New Jersey's bail reform act went into effect Jan. 1 and requires courts to assess the likelihood that a defendant will flee, commit new criminal activity, or obstruct justice by intimidating victims and other witnesses, Attorney General Christopher Porrino said. It establishes standards and criteria to guide the way police and prosecutors exercise their discretion in deciding when to seek pretrial detention, the attorney general's office said. But juvenile records are not part of that assessment.

Christopher Wilson photo via Ocean County Prosecutor's Office