Tuckerton Man Gets 5 Years In State Prison For Luring Incident At Stafford Library

Mark Allan thought he was meeting a 12-year-old girl when he went to the Stafford branch of the Ocean County Library on Feb. 8, 2014.

He wasn’t. Instead he was met by an undercover officer from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. He was arrested immediately.

Ocean County Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels sentenced Allan, 56, Tuckerton, to five years in state prison on a second-degree luring charge on Wednesday. He is also subject to Megan’s Law registration, parole supervision for life and the provisions of Nicole’s Law, which means no contact with the victim and no contact with the library branch, spokesman Al Della Fave said.

Allan pleaded guilty to the charge on May 19 in Daniel‘s courtroom.

The plea and subsequent sentencing stems from a case investigated by Ocean County Prosecutor Detective Jason Steele and Stafford Police Detective Drew Smith. The victim was approached by Allan at the Stafford Public Library on February 7, 2014. Allan, then 55,handed the juvenile victim a note requesting that she go to the movies with him.

Smith and Steele conducted an undercover operation posing as the 12-year-old victim. Allan communicated with the undercover officers via text messaging at the telephone number he had written on the note to the victim. Allan came back to the library the next day believing he was meeting the girl alone. He was greeted by the undercover officer and arrested.

Members of the Stafford Township Patrol Division and Stafford Township Drug Enforcement Unit also assisted in the investigation.

Allan has remained in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River in lieu of $100,000 bail since his arrest.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant Prosecutor Terry Ann Linardakis. Debra Giordano of the OCPO victim/witness advocate unit assisted the family throughout the process. The victim’s mother was present for the sentencing, Della Fave said.

Photo credit: Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.