Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a Cumberland County man was sentenced to 55 years in state prison today for directing a woman to initiate sexual activities involving two children, a boy, age 13, and a girl, age 8, and send him photos.
At his direction, the woman had sex with the boy while he listened, and, on another occasion, she had the girl perform oral sex on the boy, so she could send the defendant a cell phone photo of the act.
Gary T. Cramer, 30, of Bridgeton, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Holden in Camden to 55 years in state prison, of which he must serve at least 38 years without possibility of parole under the No Early Release Act. Cramer was found guilty by a Camden County jury on June 2 of all counts against him, including two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree conspiracy, and 10 counts of endangering the welfare of a child (second-, third- and fourth-degree). The child endangerment counts included possession, distribution and manufacturing of child pornography related to the photos that the woman, Rachael Baker, 24, of Winslow Township, N.J., sent to him. The state sought an extended prison term for Cramer based on the egregious nature of his offenses.
The investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice also led to charges against a second woman connected to Cramer, Stephanie Bennett, 28, of Woodbine, who was indicted separately on June 27, 2011. The investigation revealed that Bennett made a cell phone video of herself performing oral sex on an infant boy. She pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree charge of child abuse and neglect and was sentenced on Dec. 6, 2013 to time served. She served roughly two years in jail prior to sentencing.
Cramer also had a sexual relationship with Bennett, and the two communicated via text message about her sexual conduct involving the infant. The investigation began when police received information about those communications. State Police detectives initially arrested Baker on Jan. 23, 2011, and they arrested Cramer and Bennett on Feb. 16, 2011.