60°
Robert Reinhart, 52, of Telford, PA was one of 31 men arrested in a statewide crackdown of online child abuse titled "Operation 24/7," the New Jersey Attorney General’s office announced Wednesday.
Reinhart allegedly texted an undercover detective who was posing as the adult sister of a fictitious 14-year-old girl, authorities said.
He agreed to pay the older sister $300 to have sex with her "younger sister," authorities said.
He was arrested by the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s office on April 1 in West Deptford, NJ while he was attempting to meet with the girl at a hotel, authorities said.
Reinhart was charged with luring (2nd degree), attempted sexual assault (2nd degree), and attempted human trafficking (2nd degree).
The 31 arrests were made between April 1 and June 30, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. The men arrested in the three-month operation range in age from 18 to 65.
“Through major cooperative efforts like Operation 24/7, we are sending a message to sex offenders that if you threaten or exploit children, we will identify and arrest you,” said Director Lyndsay Ruotolo of the Division of Criminal Justice.
“In addition to pursuing tips from NCMEC, we routinely conduct proactive investigations on social media platforms and peer-to-peer file-sharing networks to identify online predators and offenders distributing child sexual abuse materials. There can be no higher priority than protecting our children.”
“Through these collaborative operations with the ICAC Task Force, we are working tirelessly to arrest child predators and those who exploit children by possessing and distributing child sexual abuse materials,” said Attorney General Grewal.
“With young people continuing to spend more time on their electronic devices due to the COVID pandemic, we must remain vigilant. We urge parents and guardians to warn children about the threats that exist on social media and popular gaming sites, and to watch for signs that a child has been subjected to online abuse.”
Click here for a full list of the accused.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Washington Township and receive free news updates.
