Twenty-four men were arrested for allegedly chatting with and attempting to lure minors into sex during a week-long sting this month, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office announced Tuesday.
Among the group was 47-year old Richard Conte, a police sergeant with the Howell Township Police Department, who thought he was chatting with a 15-year-old girl. He has since been suspended, authorities said.
Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said members of the state's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force maintained profiles as 14- and 15-year-old boys or girls and were approached by the suspects.
Some men chatted with the undercover officers for a day or two before arranging a meeting, others talked for up to a week.
The men started conversations on various apps and internet messengers, and over a one-week period earlier this month, they traveled to a house in Toms River where they expected to meet up with the teen -- alone.
Instead, they were met by dozens of law enforcement officers and promptly arrested -- some by the undercover officers they had been chatting with, Grewal said at a press conference Tuesday morning.
The men were arrested upon arrival to the residence or just outside of when they arrived for their scheduled meet-ups between Sept. 5 and Sept. 9, Grewal said.
Authorities dubbed the week-long sting "Operation Open House."
"Surprised would be a fair way to categorize (the suspects')" reactions, Grewal said of the arrests.
Grewal told reporters that the men varied in age, occupation and location -- some traveled upwards of 90 miles to meet the fictitious teenager.
All of the men are charged with second-degree luring, and many face additional charges like second-degree attempted sexual assault on a minor and third-degree attempted debauching the morals of a child.
Five men face third-degree charges of attempted sharing obscene materials with a child after they allegedly sent photos of their genitals to the undercover detectives.
Grewal called on families to help monitor children who have online profiles, saying interactions with predators can start in messaging apps, social media platforms and even through video games with chat features.
"We want child predators to know that we are on social media too - and the child they target may be the undercover officer who puts them in handcuffs," he said.
Division of Criminal Justice Director Veronica Allende said that more than 30 law enforcement agencies worked on this undercover operation.
"I commend our partners on the ICAC Task Force, particularly the State Police and Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, who coordinated this operation with the Division of Criminal Justice," Allende said.
The list of suspects charged. All of the men were charged with second-degree luring, and additional charges are listed:
- Mina G. Beshay, 27, of Monroe Township
- Christopher Vargas, 29, of Toms River
- Joshua Rauter, 31, of Little Egg Harbor Township
- Joseph Martin, 35, of Seaside Heights
- Richard Hoffman, 23, of Mays Landing.
- Volvi Lowinger, 23, of Lakewood.
- Thomas Graciano, 28, of Brick.
- Thomas Blumensteel, 47, of Manchester.
- Richard Conte, 47, of Farmingdale.
- Thomas Fuller, 44, Toms River.
- Zachary Vincent, 24, of Forked River.
- William Singleton, 24, of Pemberton Township.
- Jonathan Vece, 22, of Turnersville.
- Lawrence Ivancic, 51, of Toms River.
- Robert Lisicki, 51, of Metuchen.
- Dylan Daffron, 28, of Lacey Township.
- Steven Portnoy, 27, of Egg Harbor Township.
- David Studnicky, 64, of Toms River.
- Anthony Perfidio, 24, of Barnegat.
- Brian Degnan, 33, of Toms River.
- Nabindranauth Nandalall, 24, of Bronx, N.Y.
- William D. Davis, 23, Bayville.
- Charles Schlottfeld, 26, of Bayville.
- Douglass Walton, 54, of Hillsborough.
Paige Gross may be reached at pgross@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @By_paigegross