BY JOLENE HART
Staff Writer
SAYREVILLE — Ten months after his arrest on charges of plotting to have sex with a woman and her children, former freeholder and county road supervisor Alan Haag pleaded guilty in a Pennsylvania court.
The Sayreville resident entered the plea for the charge of criminal attempt to commit rape in Delaware County, Pa., on March 8, according to Delaware County District Attorney Michael Galantino. Under Haag’s plea deal, other charges would be withdrawn and the focus would turn to the most serious charge against him.
It was May 27 last year when Haag, then 49, was picked up at a CVS pharmacy in Ridley, Pa., where he allegedly arranged via the Internet to meet a woman and her young daughters for sex.
In reality, Haag was communicating with an undercover agent from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Michele Deery, who was investigating Internet crimes against children.
Authorities said Haag drove a Middlesex County-issued vehicle to the meeting area and was arrested while calling the undercover agent from a phone located at a restaurant across from the pharmacy.
Haag was jailed and later released after posting 10 percent of his $500,000 bail.
Haag’s sentencing will be delayed until June 1, according to Galantino.
"Under the recommended guidelines, the minimum sentence carried by the charge is 36 months," Galantino said. The mitigated range for the charge carries a 24-month prison sentence.
Haag’s attorneys are expected to seek an even lesser penalty, Galantino said, since Haag had no prior criminal record and no allegations against him.
According to Galantino, Haag’s sentence could also be reduced because he cooperated and sought professional treatment following the incident. Haag’s attorneys have provided records of treatment to the court.
Haag served on the Sayreville Borough Council from 1986 to 1995, and was also on the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders in the 1990s, serving at one point as its director.
Repeated attempts by the Suburban to reach Haag have been unsuccessful.