A Camden County man allegedly started an online relationship with a 12-year-old Egg Harbor City girl and then tried to get her to meet him for sex.
Henry Merton, 23, of Laurel Springs, was charged with first- and second-degree endangering along with second-degree luring, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner announced Wednesday.
The girl's 17-year-old brother found texts revealing Merton's true age, and then texted him pretending to be his sister, according to the affidavit obtained by BreakingAC.
In those exchanges, the brother allegedly got Merton's address, and Merton told the person he thought was the 12-year-old girl, that he would "want to f---?"
Merton first met the girl on SnapChat, where he admits telling her he was also a 12-year-old girl, the affidavit states.
But after Merton admitted to being an adult male, he began sending the girl nudes of a woman and had the preteen FaceTime him while she showered, the report claims.
Detectives later found texts between the two where Merton allegedly told the girl where to aim the camera while showering and to perform sex acts on herself.
He also told the girl he wanted to meet up for sex, the charges claim.
Merton was released Friday, following a detention hearing.
Note: The Atlantic County Justice Facility no longer provides mugshots to the media, citing the Atlantic County prosecutor’s order. The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office says it’s part of the Attorney General’s Guidelines. There is no such guideline, according to the Attorney General’s Office, but they have told these offices for years that they should not release any photos that appear to be mugshots.
