TOMS RIVER – A Mays Landing man has pled guilty to luring what he thought was an underage girl on social media for sexual activity, officials said.
Richard Hoffman, 26, pled guilty to Luring and is possibly facing five years in New Jersey State Prison.
As part of Operation Open House, a multi-agency undercover operation, detectives targeted men who use social media apps such as Whisper and Kik and attempt to lure underage girls and boys for sex.
Between September 4, 2018 and September 5, 2018, Hoffman thought he was chatting with a 14-year-old girl online and planned to meet her for sex at a home in Toms River. However, Hoffman was actually talking with an undercover detective from the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.
When Hoffman arrived at the prearranged location in Toms River on September 5, 2018, he was met by police and subsequently taken into custody. He was transported to the Ocean County Jail, and later released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.
In addition to his guilty plea, Hoffman will be required to register as a Megan’s Law Offender and will be subject to Parole Supervision for Life.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer acknowledged the efforts of Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Kristin Pressman who handled the case on behalf of the State, as well as the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, New Jersey State Police, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Prosecutor’s Offices from Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren counties, United States Homeland Security Investigations, United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, New Jersey State Parole Board, Bayonne Police, Gloucester Township Police, Hazlet Township Police, Keyport Police, Monroe Township Police, Red Bank Police, Spring Lake Police, Toms River Township Police, and Voorhees Township Police, for their collective and collaborative assistance in connection with the Operation Open House investigation, leading to Hoffman’s apprehension, guilty plea, and soon his state prison sentence.
