An Ocean County man already facing child pornography charges is now charged with aggravated sexual assault.
Samuel Schwinger, 34, was posing as an 11-year-old girl to get minors to perform sex acts, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said.
The prosecutor used the case to warn parents about potential dangers for children online and with certain cell phone apps.
Schwinger “was communicating with underage children through the live stream video app LIVE.ME,” Billhimer said, using the information as a warning to parents. “This app uses geolocation to share videos. Users can target the exact location of the person sharing the video. This is extremely dangerous and parents should be aware if their children have this app on their phone.”
Schwinger, a Lakewood resident, is a registered sex offender currently serving 10 years’ probation for a sexual assault out of Cook County, N.Y., Billhimer said.
He does not show up in a search of the online Megan's Law registry for New Jersey.
Last week, Schwinger was jailed on charges that included production of images/videos of children younger than 16 engaged in prohibited sexual acts along with possession and distribution of those images/videos.
The additional charges came this week, after a forensic examination of his cell phone by the Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Billhimer said.
“The forensic examination revealed videos, text messages and chats where Schwinger was posing as an 11 year old girl, coercing minor victims into performing sex acts,” Billhimer said.
This investigation began in Oklahoma, where one of the victim’s parents alerted the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Department there, the prosecutor said.
The parents of the underage girl reported that someone in New Jersey posing as an underage girl asked their daughter to send sexually explicit videos of herself.
Further investigation identified that person as Schwinger, according to the charges.
The examination of the phone also found other videos and chats, Billhimer said. Investigators are trying to identify more victims.
“Parents should be vigilant in monitoring their children’s online activity,” Billhimer warned. “It is important to know what your children are viewing, sharing and who they are communicating with.”
