Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Chief James Craparotta of the Jamesburg Police Department said today that a 50-year-old borough man has been arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child by texting a lewd photo of himself.
Linus Germe was arrested and charged on the evening of October 5, 2016 after sending the lewd photo to an undercover police officer who was posing as a 15-year-old girl who had been targeted by the defendant earlier in the day.
Bail was set at $75,000 for the defendant.
He was arrested and charged during an investigation by Detective Patrick Smith of the Jamesburg Police Department and Detective Felix De La Cruz of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation showed that Germe gave the 15-year-old girl his text number and asked her to contact him. The girl told her father and police were contacted.
The undercover officer subsequently posed as the 15-year-old girl and texted Germe. He replied with text messages that included the lewd photo.
The investigation is active and is continuing.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Smith of the Jamesburg Police Department at (732) 521-0011, or Detective De La Cruz of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3300.