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Ian Brewer, 25, of Pomona, began exchanging emails last December with a man whom he believed was offering him the opportunity but was really an undercover New Jersey State Police detective, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
The detective claimed that he and his girlfriend were part of a group that met regularly to have sex with the child, Grewal said.
Brewer agreed to pay $500 for a weekend of oral sex from the girl, the attorney general said.
He flew to New Jersey on Jan. 17, checked into a hotel room, then was arrested when he showed up at a restaurant in Elizabeth for the expected rendezvous, Grewal said.
Brewer was carrying more than $700 in cash and had condoms in his hotel room, he added.
“It’s alarming to see the great lengths to which predators like Brewer will go to seek children to sexually exploit,” Grewal said.
He's "an example of how today’s predators are not only using more sophisticated technologies but are networking with other abusers in order to find their next victim,” NJSP Supt. Col. Patrick J. Callahan added.
Brewer cut a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in Superior Court in Elizabeth this past August to aggravated sexual assault in exchange for the seven-year sentence.
He’ll also be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and will be subject to lifetime parole supervision.
Grewal credited the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, assisted by Bayonne police, for the investigation and plea, secured by Deputy Attorney General Jamie Picard.
Threats to children from online predators have increased by 50% during the COVID pandemic, the attorney general said.
“Those threats are likely to increase this fall as children return to virtual learning, with less or no in-person teacher supervision of their online activity,” he warned, while urging parents to remain vigilant.
Grewal urged anyone with information about genuine or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children or attempts by suspected predators to contact minors online to contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007.
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