N.J. trooper wanted sex, graphic pics from teen girl: prosecutor
A New Jersey state trooper has been arrested for trying to arrange a sexual encounter with and obtain sexually graphic images from a person he believed was a 14-year-old girl, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced.
In reality, the suspect, Shane Dempsey, was soliciting a detective, who’d been posing as a teenager as part of an initiative launched by the prosecutor’s office earlier this year.
Santiago said Dempsey reached out to the undercover operative through Whisper, a social media app that allows users to post and share photo and video messages anonymously. The trooper then requested explicit images and offered to pay the faux-teen for sex, according to a statement released by the prosecutor’s office on Tuesday.
Dempsey was arrested in Ewing on Monday and booked into the Monmouth County jail. He’s facing charges including second-degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child via permitting the child to engage in the production of child sexual abuse materials; second degree attempted engaging in prostitution; second-degree attempted luring; second-degree attempted sexual assault; and third-degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child via sexual conduct
Four of the five charges carries a maximum penalty of five to 10 years in prison, while the fifth charge — attempted endangering of a child by way of sexual conduct — can result in five years behind bars.
“The Prosecutor’s Office thanks the New Jersey State Police Office of Professional Standards, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, and Brick Township Police Department for assisting in this investigation and/or arrest,” Santiago said.
Dempsey was suspended without pay in wake of his arrest, NJ.com reported. He’s been a state trooper since 2017.
