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Kevin Van Pelt, 29, of Lakehurst, “engaged in sexually explicit conduct over an online messaging service,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said.
Van Pelt originally was arrested last May following an investigation by the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and Woolwich Township police, who said he used Snapchat and Instagram to ask seek a meeting for sex with a 14-year-old girl.
Van Pelt, who worked part-time for NJ Advance Media – the parent company of NJ.com and the Star-Ledger – told the girl he’d been a rapist since he was 12 and needed to continue, according to a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Trenton.
“Wanna meet up?" it says he asked her.
The case has since gone federal, with a magistrate judge in U.S. District Court in Trenton releasing Van Pelt on a $100,000 unsecured appearance bond following his arrest Tuesday on charges of online enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual conduct and possession of child pornography, Carpenito said.
From August to October 2018, Van Pelt “used multiple online messaging services to communicate with a minor victim, including repeatedly requesting that the minor send him sexually explicit images, the U.S. attorney said.
“Van Pelt also had images of child sexual abuse on his cellular phone when he was arrested by local authorities on May 1, 2019,” he said.
Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, along with the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office and Woolwich police with the investigation leading to Tuesday’s arrest.
Handling the case for the government is Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisa T. Wiygul of Carpenito’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
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ALSO SEE: Two New Jersey state troopers were arrested Tuesday on child porn charges, authorities announced.
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