Man Allegedly Tried Meeting A Child For Sex At Ramsey Hotel: Feds

RAMSEY, N.J. — A Massachusetts man allegedly tried to engage in sexual contact with a child at a hotel was arrested at the hotel Thursday, authorities said.

Richard Bly, 66, was charged after he posted an advertisement Feb. 7 on an internet website seeking to meet a parent willing to make their child available to him for sexual activity, said Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick.

Bly exchanged emails for several weeks with an undercover law enforcement agent posing as the mother of an 8-year-old girl, Fitzpatrick said.

Bly "repeatedly expressed his interest in engaging in sexual activity" with the child and made plans to meet the girl and her mother at a Ramsey hotel, the attorney said. Authorities did not specify at which hotel Bly was arrested.

Bly was charged with online enticement of a minor, an offense punishable by life in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge carries a minimum sentence of 10 years.

The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office assisted with the investigation.

Bly was arrested in August on child enticement charges out of Massachusetts after he thought he was meeting with a minor, but was arrested by police, said Carrie Kimball-Monahan, a spokesperson with the Essex County District Attorney's Office.

Bly was initially held without bail, but was released in early September because a judge ruled that child enticement was not a charge for which a prosecutor could ask a judge to hold a person without bail, Kimball-Monahan said.

Bly was later released on $5,000 bail. The case remains open.

"We disagreed with the decision and appealed, but it was denied," Kimball-Monahan said.

A Massachusetts Grand Jury indicted Bly on possession of child porn, withholding evidence and witness intimidation charges, Kimball-Monahan said.

"He allegedly asked someone to destroy evidence," Kimball-Monahan said.

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