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Volvi Lowinger and Brian Degnan were among 24 men nabbed in a "To Catch a Predator"-type sting dubbed “Operation Open House.”
Lowinger, a 25-year-old student from Lakewood who worked at a dry cleaning business, was sentenced last Friday to four years in state prison by a Superior Court judge in Toms River after previously pleaded guilty to luring.
Degnan, a 34-year-old data entry clerk from Toms River, was sentenced Tuesday to three years in state prison, also by a Superior Court judge in Toms River, after previously pleading guilty to the same charge.
Lowinger was caught in the sting “attempting to arrange sex with an undercover officer he believed was a 15-year-old girl,” state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
He’d sent sexually explicit photos of himself online to the “girl” – actually a Wall Township police detective, the attorney general said.
Lowinger was arrested when he showed up expecting underage sex at what turned out to be a house used for the operation, where dozens of officers and agents were waiting to arrest offenders and process evidence, Grewal said.
Degnan, meanwhile, arranged a sexual encounter with what he believed was a 15-year-old boy, the attorney general said.
He was on his way to meet what he thought was an underage boy – actually a detective from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office – when he drove past the undisclosed location because there were a lot of police in the area, Grewal said.
“Degnan had condoms, sexual lubricant and a sex toy in the car” when officers pulled him over and arrested him, the attorney general said.
Both Lowinger and Degnan will be required to register as sex offenders under Megan’s Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life, under the terms of their plea-bargained sentences, Grewal said.
Deputy Attorney General Danielle P. Counts prosecuted Lowinger for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Cyber Crimes Bureau, while Deputy Attorneys General Lilianne Daniel and Lisa Rastelli prosecuted Degnan.
“These prison sentences reflect our commitment to aggressively prosecute child predators,” Grewal said. “In addition to large-scale operations like Open House, we patrol the internet and social media on a daily basis with our federal, state, and local partners to protect children.
“We urge parents to do their part by talking to their children about social media and the dangers posed by online predators,” the attorney general said.
“Sexual predators like Lowinger and Degnan need to know that the children they target on social media may very well be law enforcement officers,” said Division of Criminal Justice Director Veronica Allende. “We are working diligently to lock up child predators and those who distribute child pornography online.”
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ALSO SEE: A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a sports television network engineer from Indiana who was one of 19 men snagged in an online sting after authorities said he traveled to Somerset County to meet what he thought was an underage boy for sex.
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Grewal and Allende urged anyone with information about the distribution of child pornography on the internet – or about suspected improper contact by unknown 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.
“Operation Open House” was led by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), the New Jersey State Police Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
The ICAC Task Force also includes the DCJ, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), all 21 county prosecutors’ offices in New Jersey, as well as many other state, county and local law enforcement agencies.
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