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The “girls” whom William Singleton, 25, of Pemberton, and Charles Schlottfeld, 28, of Bayville met online were actually undercover detectives.
Singleton and Schlottfeld were snagged during “Operation Open House,” a multi-agency undercover sting led by Grewal’s office that produced the arrests of two dozen men who he said used social media to try and hook up with underage teens.
Singleton and Schlottfeld each thought he was communicating online with a 14-year-old girl whom he asked to meet for sex, the attorney general said.
Both “discussed in detail the sexual acts they would perform,” he said.
On the other end, however, was an undercover detective with the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
Both Singleton and Schlottfeld were arrested when they arrived at the undercover house in Toms River, where dozens of officers and agents participating in “Operation Open House” were waiting.
Each took a guilty plea rather than face trial, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
Both will be required to register as sex offenders under Megan’s Law and be subject to lifetime parole supervision.
“With these prison sentences, we are sending a strong message to predators who think they can freely hunt for vulnerable children online,” Grewal said. “We will continue to identify and arrest these offenders because there is no higher priority for us than the safety of our children. “
He added, however, that “at a time when more young people are online as a result of the pandemic, we especially need parents and guardians to do their part by warning children that these dangerous predators use popular social media services, gaming platforms, and chat apps to target unsuspecting victims.”
Deputy Attorney General Thomas Huynh prosecuted Singleton and Deputy Attorney General Rachael Weeks prosecuted Schlottfeld for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Cyber Crimes Bureau.
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DO YOU HAVE INFORMATION about online child pornography or attempts by adults to contact children online for sex? Call the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
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