Pastor Used Nude Pics To Blackmail 13 Boys In Burlington Co.: Official

MOUNT HOLLY, NJ — A former youth pastor from Palmyra was indicted Tuesday on charges related to persuading 13 boys on social media to send him nude pictures and videos, the Burlington County Prosecutor said.

Sean Higgins, 31, also used these photos and videos to blackmail his victims into performing sexual acts on themselves for his enjoyment, the prosecutor also said.

Higgins was indicated on 75 total counts that included charges of endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, cyber harassment and obscenity to a minor, according to the prosecutor.

The victims, who were all aged 12 to 17 years old, resided in Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Tennessee at the time of the offenses, the prosecutor said.

Higgins has been in prison since October 2020, when he was one of 15 people arrested as part of a massive crackdown on child pornography amid the coronavirus pandemic, the prosecutor said.

That 2020 arrest led to the execution of a search warrant at Higgins' house and church that yielded multiple electronic devices, according to the prosecutor.

Those devices indicated Higgins adopted the persona of a teenage girl he named Julie Miller and then used Snapchat and Instagram to start talking with underage boys, the prosecutor said.

After a bond was forged between 'Julie Miller' and each of the underage boys, Higgins "would suggest that they trade photos. Higgins would then send pictures" of an unidentified teenage girl, the prosecutor's office stated.

Higgins often received nude pictures of the teenage boys in return, according to the prosecutor.

Higgins would take a screenshot of the teenage boys' friends who were listed on their phones, "send that screenshot back to the victim and threaten to send the nude photos he had just received to the list of the victim’s friends unless the victim did exactly what Higgins demanded," the prosecutor's office stated.

"In most of the cases that were investigated, Higgins then demanded that his victims go into the bathroom at their residence and place the phone on the floor, or at an angle looking up, and would instruct the victims to masturbate or perform sexual acts on themselves. Higgins would record what was transpiring," the prosecutor's office continued.

The teenage boys often begged Higgins to let them stop this behavior, but he would threaten to send the recordings he was making to the teenage boys' friends if they ceased following his commands, according to the prosecutor.

He committed the crimes while he worked as the youth pastor and music leader at Harbor Baptist Church in Hainesport and serving as a teacher at the adjacent school, the prosecutor said.

None of the victims that have thus far come forward were members of the congregation or students at the school, the prosecutor said.

Higgins remains in prison pending arraignment in Superior Court, according to the prosecutor.

Anyone who believes their child has had inappropriate interaction on Snapchat or Instagram with someone going by the user name of Julie Miller, Julia Miller, or some variation of that name, is asked to call Burlington County Central Communications at 609-265-7113, or send an email to tips@co.burlington.nj.us.

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