Crime & Safety

PA Man Traveled To NJ For Sex With 12-Year-Old, Charged: Feds

The person he was chatting with turned out to be an undercover agent. He was apprehended by authorities at a hotel in Mount Laurel.

MOUNT LAUREL, NJ — a Pennsylvania man was arrested and charged after he crossed state lines to entice a 12-year-old into prostitution, but was met with an undercover agent, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

Louis Goldenberg, 41, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is charged by complaint with one count of attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution.

According to court documents, in August Goldenberg began chatting online with an undercover agent, who was posing as a middle-aged woman with a 12-year-old niece. From August through September, he messaged the undercover agent, continuously expressing interest in having sex with the minor, the court documents say.

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During conversations, Goldenberg agreed to meet at a specific hotel in Mt. Laurel where he wanted to have sex with the minor, authorities said.

On Sept. 18, Goldenberg traveled from Pennsylvania to the Mt. Laurel hotel, where he had a reservation for that evening, according to court documents. When he arrived at the hotel, he was arrested, Sellinger said.

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Goldenberg made his initial appearance on Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sharon A. King in Camden federal court and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.

The count of enticement carries a mandatory minimum term of incarceration of 10 years in prison, a potential maximum term of life in prison, and up to a $250,000 fine.

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