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Justin R. Ganutan, of Stockton, CA, was having an online relationship with the girl when he traveled from the West Coast to Somerset County, to meet the girl, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson said Monday.
The victim, a Somerset County resident, told detectives she had sexual intercourse with Ganutan twice in Franklin Township during a trip he took last December specifically to meet her, Robertson said alongside Chief of County Detectives John W. Fodor and Franklin Township Public Safety Director Quovella M. Spruill.
The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit was alerted to the situation by the Cybertipline on Jan. 4.
Ganutan was apprehended without incident by law enforcement agents on Feb. 17, on charges of second-degree sexual assault and third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, authorities said.
He was lodged in the San Joaquin County Jail where he will remain lodged pending extradition proceedings.
DA Inspector Gus Galindo, members of the Alameda County SAFE Task Force (Sex and Felony Enforcement Team), Sergeant Mike Delaray and members of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Transit Crimes Unit and the Stockton Police Department assisted with the arrest and investigation.
Anyone with information relating to this sexual assault to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office at (908) 231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at (732) 873-5533 or via the STOPit app.
The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ.
Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.
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