SOUTH TOMS RIVER — A Toms River man was charged Saturday with luring a girl, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. Ralph Maffie, 76, was arrested and charged with luring or enticing a child by various means.
According to court records, this was not Maffie’s first experience with the law for harassment and lewdness.
In the most recent incident, Maffie approached a 14-year-old girl Oct. 25 in the Wawa parking lot. He asked her if she needed a ride, to which she responded no. Maffie allegedly continued to follow the girl in his car. He stopped next to her and opened his door and asked if she wanted money. The girl again said no.
The girl said he drove away, made a U-turn and returned in her direction. She told authorities she was frightened and ran away from the vehicle.
Maffie was arrested and charged following the Oct. 25 incident. He is being held in the Ocean County Jail.
Maffie was also previously convicted of one count each of harassment and lewdness in separate 2016 municipal court cases. He spent a year on probation for the lewdness conviction, owing $1,779 in fines and fees.
Also in 2016, Maffie was charged with four more counts of lewdness, another count of harassment and one count of public urination that year. These charges were eventually dismissed.
Ocean County and South Toms River detectives investigated the Oct. 25 incident with the assistance of the OCPO High Tech Unit and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department.
Jennifer Peacock contributed to this report.
