Man Who Came To NJ To Sexually Assault Child Pleads Guilty: Cops
NEW JERSEY – A California man pleaded guilty Friday to traveling to New Jersey in an attempt to sexually assault an underage girl, according to Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal. The defendant had communicated online with a man he believed was offering him an opportunity to sexually assault a girl, age 11, Grewal said.
In reality, that man was an undercover detective of the New Jersey State Police.
Ian Brewer, 25, of Pomona, Calif., pleaded guilty to an accusation charging him with second-degree aggravated sexual assault before Superior Court Judge Joseph P. Donohue in Union County. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Brewer be sentenced to seven years in state prison. He will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life. Sentencing for Brewer is scheduled for Sept. 30 before Superior Court Judge Regina Caulfield.
“It’s alarming to see the great lengths to which predators like Brewer will go to seek children to sexually exploit,” said Grewal. “We want parents and guardians to know that online threats to children from such predators have increased as much as 50 percent in New Jersey during the COVID pandemic, as gauged by tips to law enforcement, and those threats are likely to increase this fall as children return to virtual learning, with less or no in-person teacher supervision of their online activity. This guilty plea reflects our commitment to protect children and bring offenders like Brewer to justice.”
According to authorities, Brewer began exchanging emails in December 2019 with the undercover detective. The undercover detective said that for a fee, Brewer could sexually assault the 11-year-old daughter of his girlfriend, police said. The detective represented that he and his girlfriend were part of a group that met regularly to sexually assault the child, police said. Brewer agreed to pay a fee of $500 for the weekend to have the girl perform oral sex on him, police said. He was arrested on Jan. 17, after flying to New Jersey and checking into a hotel room, police said. He was arrested at a restaurant in Elizabeth, where he went to meet the man and his girlfriend, police said. Brewer had $701 cash in his possession, and numerous condoms were found in his hotel room, police said.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to identify and arrest child predators, those who sexually abuse children, and those who possess, distribute and manufacture child sexual abuse materials,” Grewal said.
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This article originally appeared on the Long Valley Patch
