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Daniel R. Gallagher, of Marlton, had arranged to meet with the "teen" over a chat app and had been texting with her over the last several weeks, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said.
The investigation began earlier this summer when Gallagher’s online activities were discovered by law enforcement officials. Before orchestrating the rendezvous, Gallagher sent nude photos and videos to the girl he believed he would be meeting, authorities said.
Gallagher went to the Staples store on Route 70 in Evesham Township Wednesday afternoon in hopes of meeting her, but was met by members of members of the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit, the Evesham Township Police Department and United States Homeland Security Investigations – Cherry Hill Office, who took him into custody.
Gallagher, of the first block of Willow Ridge Road, was charged with Attempting to Lure a Minor (Second Degree), Attempted Sexual Assault (Second Degree), Debauching the Morals of a Child (Third Degree), Providing Obscenity to a Minor (Third Degree), and Attempted Criminal Sexual Contact (Fourth Degree).
He was lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly pending a detention hearing in Superior Court. The case will be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment.
The investigation was conducted by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit, the Evesham Township Police Department and HSI – Cherry Hill Office,
The lead investigator was Evesham Township Detective Christopher DeFrancesco, who is assigned to the High-Tech Crimes Unit as a Task Force Officer. Gallagher will be prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Remy, who is assigned to the HTCU.
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