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The “dads” turned out to be undercover members of the New Jersey State Police and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.
Aaron D. Craiger, 34, of Oklahoma City originally was arrested in March 2020 after he checked into a motel with condoms and pot that he wanted to smoke with the “girls,” ages 11 and 12, the indictment returned Friday in Trenton says.
He has remained in custody since then.
SEE: Oklahoma Rapist Who Took Bus To NJ For Sex With Underage Girls Busted In Sting, Authorities Say
Craiger “detailed the sexual acts he wanted to [have] with the girls” and sent 10 child porn images during text exchanges with two undercover detectives, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
Craiger’s phone contained several of those images when authorities arrested him, Grewal said.
Craiger was registered as a sex offender following a 2006 conviction for rape in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, records show.
He also was convicted in Oklahoma for failing to register as a sex offender when he applied for, and received, a job working at a state fair.
Craiger also was accused of plotting to kidnap his son's mother from a church in Oklahoma several years ago, records show.
Following Craiger’s arrest, Deputy Attorney General Lisa M. Rastelli obtained the subsequent indictment for Grewal’s Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Cyber Crimes Bureau.
It charges Craiger with conspiracy to commit human trafficking, luring/enticing a child, attempted aggravated sexual assault, attempted impairing/debauching the morals of a child and possession and distribution of child porn.
“Even a global pandemic did not deter Craiger from traveling halfway across the United States for the alleged purpose of sexually exploiting underage victims,” Grewal said.
“I urge parents to continue to talk to their children about the dangers of predators on social media, particularly with children spending more time at home on their electronic devices,” he added.
Grewal commended the detectives of the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, special agents of HSI Atlantic City and attorneys of the DCJ Financial & Cyber Crimes Bureau who worked on the investigation.
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NOTE: In addition to investigating cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, members of the New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit, the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau, and the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (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 pornography.
State authorities urged anyone with information about the online distribution of child pornography, suspected improper contact with minors by strangers or other possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children to contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tip Line at 888-648-6007.
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