6 Hudson Valley Men Arrested In NJ Child Predator Bust: AG

Six Hudson Valley residents were arrested after being accused in New Jersey of trying to lure children for sex. Undercover officers use such apps as Kik, Grinder, Tinder and Adam4Adam to pose as children, leading to the arrest of a total of 16 people.

Among those arrested were a teacher, a dental hygienist and two takeout food delivery drivers.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo announced arrests of 16 men in “Operation Home Alone,” a multi-agency undercover operation targeting men who allegedly were using social media in an attempt to lure underage girls and boys for sexual activity.

The underage "children" were undercover officers, authorities said, and most of the defendants were arrested when they arrived at a Bergen County, New Jersey, residence.

Grewal said the men used social media to stalk victims they believed were vulnerable children who could be sexually exploited.

"Parents need to know that the profiles of the underage girls and boys we posted on social media to catch these offenders could easily have been profiles of their own children, who might also be targeted by predators on chat apps and popular gaming sites," he said.

The arrests were made over a five-day period from April 11 through April 15. Seven of the men traveled to the undercover house from locations in New York and one traveled from Philadelphia, authorities said.

The men are variously charged with second-degree luring, second-degree attempted sexual assault on a minor and third-degree attempted debauching the morals of a child. Two men face third-degree charges of attempted showing obscene material to a minor for sending photographs of their genitals to undercover detectives, police said. Two men are charged with having child pornography on their electronic devices, including one who had more than 13,000 files of suspected child pornography on his phone, authorities said, and a second who was already facing sentencing on a prior child pornography charge filed by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

One of the men, who is a police officer, Peter Tuchol Jr., was arrested April 15 at the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office in Paramus. Thirteen others were arrested at undercover residence in Bergen County. One was arrested at a shopping mall and the other at his own home.

Police said that those who went to the undercover residence had 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, police said.

The Hudson Valley residents who were arrested are as listed below. The minor, described in parentheses, is who they thought they were communicating with, police said.

Kevin Roth, 26, Nanuet, N.Y. (Boy, 14) Roth is a teacher at the High School of Computers and Technology in Bronx, N.Y. Charges: Luring (2nd degree), Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree). BCPO is prosecuting.

• Dariush Ghamarnezhad, 37, of Pomona, N.Y. (Girl, 14) Ghamarnezhad is a dental hygienist. Charges: Luring (2nd degree), Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree). DCJ is prosecuting.
• Shaheen Lariff, 49, of New City, N.Y. (Boy, 15) Lariff is a bank branch office manager. Charges: Luring (2nd degree), Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree). DCJ is prosecuting.
• Yosef Kriger, 31, of New City, N.Y. (Girl, 14) Kriger is a pharmaceuticals delivery driver. Charges: Luring (2nd degree), Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree), Attempted Debauching Morals of a Child (3rd degree). BCPO is prosecuting.
• Teodoro Alvarez Ortega, 28, of Suffern, N.Y. (Boy, 14) Avarez Ortega is a restaurant server. Charges: Luring (2nd degree), Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree), Attempted Debauching Morals of a Child (3rd degree), Attempted Showing Obscene Material to a Minor (3rd degree). DCJ is prosecuting.
• Jacob Smith, 26, of New Rochelle, N.Y. (Girl, 14) Smith is a takeout food delivery driver. Charges: Luring (2nd degree), Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree), Attempted Debauching Morals of a Child (3rd degree), Attempted Showing Obscene Material to a Minor (3rd degree). DCJ is prosecuting.

Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree charges carry a sentence of three of five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Fourth-degree charges carry a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

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