Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said on Thursday, October 6, members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Harrison Police Department arrested a high school dean of seniors after being notified of an attempted luring incident.
Prosecutor Suarez said Didier Jean-Baptiste, 54, of Jersey City, is charged with one count of Luring by Attempt a crime of the second degree and Attempted Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
He was arrested without incident at his residence in Jersey City, transported to the Harrison Police Department, and released on a summons based on the recommendation of a risk assessment tool in accordance with Criminal Justice Reform. Jean-Baptiste is tentatively scheduled to appear in court on Monday, October 24, 2022.
Prosecutor Suarez said the investigation determined Jean-Baptiste, a dean at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, arranged to meet an individual, who he believed to be a teenager, for sex in Harrison during a watchdog internet sting operation.
The crimes did not involve any students. Anyone wishing to report a sex crime should call the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit (SVU) at 201-915-1234.
The above charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).