A Jersey City police officer allegedly came to Atlantic City to pay to sexually assault two little girls.
Stephen Wilson, 34, brought more than $500 and condoms to meet the adults who offered him access to the 8- and 10-year-old girls, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said.
The Bayonne resident met the adults on an incest chat group, and agreed to pay $200 to sexually assault them, according to the charges.
Wilson was arrested in a parking area in Atlantic City where he was supposed to meet the adults, Grewal said.
He is charged with conspiracy to commit human trafficking, attempted aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
Information released at his detention hearing Thursday revealed there were no children and that the adults Wilson spoke with were law enforcement officers.
Wilson has been with the Jersey City Police Department since 2009, according to his LinkedIn. Before that, he was a Hudson County sheriff's officer.
He is currently in the Atlantic County Justice Facility pending a detention hearing.
The human-trafficking charge carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison and a fine of as much as $200,000.
The attempted sexual assault carries five to 10 years and a maximum $150,000 fine.
The endangering, which is a third-degree crime, carries a sentence of three to five years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
Grewal commended the detectives of the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, under the leadership of NJSP Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan; special agents of HSI Newark, under the leadership of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina, and deputy attorneys general of the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Cyber Crimes Bureau, under the leadership of DCJ Director Veronica Allende.
Deputy Attorney General Rachael Weeks is assigned to prosecute the case, under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Lilianne Daniel, Bureau Chief Jillian Carpenter and DCJ Deputy Director Rob Czepiel.
Anyone with information about the distribution of child sexual abuse materials on the internet or suspected improper contact by unknown persons communicating with children via the internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children is asked to call the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007.
