The "girl" was actually a U.S. Homeland Security special agent.
Jason McCann, 36, of Blackwood in Camden County, was sentenced to parole for life and will be placed on the New Jersey sex offender registry for trying to meet the girl at a Bordentown Township Park, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina.
Under a plea-bargained agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, McCann pleaded guilty in March to attempt to commit endangering the welfare of a child - impairing or debauching the morals of a child -- in exchange for a three-year sentence in New Jersey state prison, Coffina said.
In addition to parole supervision for life and registration as a sex offender, the State argued at Wednesday's sentencing that McCann be sent to prison, Coffina said.
But Superior Court Judge decided to issue a sentence that didn't include prison time, the prosecutor said.
An investigation into McCann began in July 2020 after he used an instant messaging app to arrange a rendezvous and send pictures of his genitals and videos of himself masturbating to someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl, Coffina said.
In reality, the person he was communicating with was a special agent with United States Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Remy handled the case.
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