An Absecon man who ran when he was confronted by a man he allegedly thought was a teenager has been released from jail.
Paul Smith Jr., 29, was at the King's Food Mart in Pleasantville when he was approached by Cameron Decker, who was livestreaming the interaction.
Decker informed Smith that he was really the 14-year-old boy Smith had been texted on Grindr. After learning of the 'boy's' age, Smith sent naked photos of himself, including close-ups of his private parts, according to images Decker shared with BreakingAC.
"This was no an actual child," defense attorney Sarah Weinstock told the judge during a detention hearing Thursday. "It is a group posing as such through the Grindr app."
She noted that the Grindr is a dating app restricted to those 18 and older.
Weinstock also stressed that her client "wasn't fleeing from police, he was fleeing from vigilantes who were chasing him down."
When police did make contact, Smith was bleeding from his forehead, she said.
It was not clear how he was injured, but a man not associated with Decker was seen approaching Smith and physically confronting him as Decker continued to ask the man not to hurt him.
Judge William Miller noted that Atlantic County has been seeing a large number of these type of cases, and that "we try to be consistent."
Weinstock said most of the defendants have been released pending their cases going through the courts.
Smith is charged with endangering and obscene material.
