BY PATRICIA A. MILLER
Staff Writer
They cast their net and came away with a big catch.Twenty-eight men showed up at a home in Toms River over three days last week, hoping to have sex with what they thought were juveniles between 12 and 15 years old, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Thomas F. Kelaher. Instead, they ended up in the Ocean County jail in Toms River, all charged with second-degree sexual assault and luring, crimes which could earn them five to 10 years in jail if they are found guilty, he said.
The sting operation was a coordinated effort between the nonprofit organization Perverted Justice, “Dateline NBC,” the Prosecutor’s Office and a number of local police departments, Kelaher said.
The operation began when Perverted Justice representatives contacted the Prosecutor’s Office’s computer crimes unit with evidence of a large number of pedophiles they believed wanted to come to the county and engage in sexual acts with underage children, he said.
“I want to emphasize that the Perverted Justice organization came to us with evidence of potential crimes in Ocean County, and as a result, our office felt that it was incumbent upon us to thoroughly investigate these allegations and take appropriate action,” Kelaher said.
The home was jointly rented by Perverted Justice and the “Dateline” program “To Catch a Predator.” The men came to the home over a three-day period, starting on the afternoon of March 29 and ending at 5 p.m. on April 1.
And instead of a juvenile, each man found himself facing Chris Hanson, the “Dateline” host. He proceeded to grill them about why they had shown up at the house.
The men were arrested as they came out of the house. They were first taken to the Mantoloking police department, then to Brick police headquarters and then to the Ocean County jail, Kelaher said.
All of the cases will eventually be presented to an Ocean County grand jury. Bail for the men ranged from $50,000 to $150,000, he said.
The men came from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. They ranged in age from a 60-year-old engineer from Holmdel to a 21-year-old lifeguard from Belmar, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
The “Dateline” show will air sometime in July.
Kelaher thanked the Brick, Manchester, Mantoloking, Bay Head and Point Pleasant Beach police departments, the Ocean County Department of Corrections, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, the Ocean County Security Department and the Ocean County Vehicle Services department for their help in the operation.