Toms River-Based Sex Sting Prompts Chat App Warning From AG

TOMS RIVER, NJ — If your children are on social media chat applications or playing Fortnite or Minecraft on a regular basis, you need to keep an eye on what they're doing, the New Jersey attorney general's office says.

That's where 24 men who thought they were going to meet teenagers for sex communicated with their targets before arranging to meet them in Toms River, according to the news release on Operation Open House. The "children" were actually undercover law enforcement officers.

Among the 24 men were five from Toms River and 10 others were from Ocean County towns. But others, including Howell Police Sgt. Richard Conte and a man who traveled from the Bronx, came to Toms River from Sept. 5 through Sept. 9 expecting to meet a teenager to have sex, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.

"Parents need to be aware of their children’s activities on the internet, and if children appear anxious or evasive when this topic is raised, it may be a red flag," Grewal said. "It is critical that parents talk to their children about social media and chat apps to let them know that the people they encounter may not be who they initially seem to be."

Authorities say the men typically initiated contact based on profiles posted on social media platforms by specially trained undercover detectives and agents. Once chatting began, the undercover officers clearly identified themselves as underage girls or boys, according to the release. Despite that information, the men allegedly engaged the purported "children" in conversations about sex; some sent photos of their genitals over social media to the "children" and arranged to meet them for sex. The chats were conducted over a period of several weeks leading up to the "meet-up" week when arrests were made, according to the release.

The Toms River men arrested were:

• Brian Degnan, 33, who is a data entry clerk, allegedly believed he was talking with a 15-year-old boy. He was charged with second-degree attempted luring.
• Thomas Fuller, 44; Fuller, an assistant manager/sterilization technician, allegedly believed he was talking with a 15-year-old boy. He was charged with second-degree attempted luring and second-degree attempted sexual assault on a minor.
• Lawrence Ivancic, 51; he is unemployed and allegedly believed he was talking with a 14-year-old girl. He was charged with second-degree attempted luring and second-degree attempted sexual assault on a minor.
• David Studnicky, 64, is a dry cleaner and allegedly believed he was talking with a 15-year-old boy. He was charged with second-degree attempted luring; second-degree attempted sexual assault on a minor, third-degree attempted debauching morals of a child and third-degree attempted showing obscene material to a minor.
• Christopher Vargas, 29, who is a registered nurse, allegedly believed he was talking with a 15-year-old boy. He was charged with second-degree attempted luring.

Most of the men arrested at the undercover house in Toms River — a four-bedroom home – while a few were arrested at other meet-up locations or were stopped in their cars after driving to the vicinity of those locations. according to the release.

The social media chat applications the men allegedly used were: Kik, Skout, Grindr, Whisper, Omegle, Tinder, Chat Avenue, Chat Roulette, Wishbone, Live.ly, Musical.ly, Paltalk, Yubo, Hot or Not, Down, and Tumblr, and some arrests involved the gaming apps Fortnite, Minecraft, and Discord, Grewal's office said.

Those who went to the undercover house allegedly expected to find their victims home alone. Instead, they were arrested upon arrival, sometimes by teams that included the very officer who portrayed the child they targeted for sex, according to the release.

The undercover house was staffed with dozens of law enforcement officers and evidence technicians. Attorneys were stationed nearby at the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, according to the release.

Electronic devices that were seized from the men were previewed at the scene by evidence technicians when the accused gave consent, according to the release. Attorneys and detectives drafted search warrants for other seized digital devices. All of the devices were taken to the forensic computer laboratory at the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office for full forensic examinations.

Those examinations, which are ongoing, will enable investigators to determine if the devices contain evidence of any prior encounters by the defendants with underage victims, which might constitute additional cases of luring, sexual assault or child endangerment, the release said.

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With reporting by Tom Davis, Patch National staff; Image via Shutterstock