Princeton Animal Control Officer Met Alleged Child Sex Assault Victim Through Dating Website Grinder, Report Says

PRINCETON, NJ — The Princeton Animal Control Officer who was suspended without pay after being charged with child sexual assault in Pennsylvania met his victim on the dating website Grinder, the victim testified during a preliminary hearing in Pennsylvania last week.

During a follow-up conversation on Snapchat, the 13-year-old boy suggested meeting at the Pat Livezey Park in Solebury Township on Feb. 3, the Princeton Packet reports.

After the two engaged in small talk, the victim said he and Barson had sex before the victim’s mother showed up, according to the report. Before Barson was able to leave, the victim said his mother wrote down Barson’s license plate and reported it to police.

The case has been elevated to the Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania’s equivalent of New Jersey’s Superior Court.

The Princeton Packet also reported that Barson's town-issued cell phone has been reported missing, after the town ordered him to surrender all equipment issued to him by the municipality as part of his suspension.

Barson, 29, of Lambertville, was arrested last month and charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, indecent assault, corruption of minors and criminal use of a communication facility.

The town has said that Barson, who was also a Crossing Guard in Princeton, had no criminal record and “glowing recommendations” as a strong worker before he was hired as the town’s Animal Control Officer in 2015.

He is currently out on bail, with an arraignment scheduled for April 21.

The attached image of Nate Barson was provided