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Joseph M. Graber III, of Marlton, was sentenced under the Lunsford Act Friday by Superior Court Judge Christopher Garrenger in Burlington County, Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Friday, May 13.
Graber will remain a registered sex offender under Megan’s Law, have limited use of the Internet, pay mandatory fines and penalties, forfeit all devices, and will be subject to parole supervision for life. Graber pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated sexual assault on Nov. 29, 2021.
A New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigation Unit (DTIU) detective monitoring a children's chat got a private message from a user claiming to be a 16-year-old boy in February 2018.
The detective identified herself as a 13-year-old girl and the boy, later identified as Graber, asked the "girl" sexually explicit questions and asked if she wanted to see his genitals, authorities said. Graber then sent the detective a photo of his genitals.
Detectives linked the screen name to an IP address that was traced to Graber, who was identified as a Tier 2 registered sex offender subject to parole supervision for life under Megan’s Law.
Graber previously pleaded guilty in 2011 to attempted endangering the welfare of a child for sending a sexually explicit photo to another detective, who in that case was posing as a 12-year-old girl.
After Graber was identified, the State Parole Board was notified of the investigation.
Graber continued for about one month to send sexually explicit communications to the detective, who he believed was a 13-year-old girl, using social media apps. He sent additional photos of himself and his genitals and a video of himself masturbating. He also requested that the “girl” send him “sexy videos” using a video chat app.
When Graber was arrested at his home in June 2018, investigators searched the residence and executed a search warrant at his father’s home in Medford Township where Graber was staying while communicating with the undercover detective.
Graber was not supposed to be living there due to his restrictions of being a registered sex offender. Investigators previewed the contents of devices seized from Graber upon his arrest and discovered evidence that Graber also had been sending sexually explicit photos and/or video of himself to actual underage girls.
In addition to investigating cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, members of the New Jersey State Police ICAC Unit, Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Cyber Crimes Bureau, and New Jersey Regional ICAC Task Force routinely conduct undercover chat investigations on social media platforms leading to arrests of hands-on offenders and defendants attempting to lure children.
They also conduct proactive investigations to apprehend offenders by monitoring peer-to-peer file-sharing networks and identifying the IP addresses of individuals sharing child sexual abuse materials.
Acting Attorney General Platkin and Director Ruotolo urged anyone who has information about the distribution of child sexual abuse materials on the internet – or who suspects improper contact by persons communicating with children via the internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children – to contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007.
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