Bayville man the latest to receive sentence for luring

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A Bayville man was sentenced to four years in prison along with a Pemberton man after they both attempted to lure underage girls they met on social media to meet in person for sex, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced on Wednesday.

The “girls” the men were trying to meet were actually undercover detectives participating in “Operation Open House,” a multi-agency undercover operation that was run in September 2018 led by the Attorney General’s Office that resulted in arrests of 24 men who allegedly were using social media to lure underage girls and boys for sexual activity which included men from Toms River, Lakewood and Lacey as well.

William Singleton, 25, of Pemberton and Charles Schlottfeld, 28, of Bayville were each sentenced to four years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan in Ocean County and they both plead guilty to second-degree luring and will now be required to register as sex offenders under Megan’s Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life.

An undercover detective with the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force encountered the men on social media posing as a 14-year-old girl who was asked to meet him for sexual activity.

Singleton and Schlottfeld also discussed in detail the sexual acts they wished to perform with the underage girl.

They were arrested when they arrived at the undercover house in Toms River, where dozens of officers and agents participating in Operation Open House were prepared to arrest offenders and process any evidence seized.

“With these prison sentences, we are sending a strong message to predators who think they can freely hunt for vulnerable children online,” Attorney General Grewal said in prepared remarks. “We will continue to identify and arrest these offenders because there is no higher priority for us than the safety of our children. But at a time when more young people are online as a result of the pandemic, we especially need parents and guardians to do their part by warning children that these dangerous predators use popular social media services, gaming platforms, and chat apps to target unsuspecting victims.”

Defense Attorneys

For Singleton: Assistant Deputy Public Defender Marissa K. DeAnna, Ocean County

For Schlottfeld: Alexandra Nieves-Martinez , Esq., Berkeley Township, N.J.

You can follow Vin Ebenau on Twitter and Instagram and email news tips to vin.ebenau@townsquaremedia.com.

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