A 27-year-old Somerset County man has been charged with engaging an underage male he met online in a sexual conversation and convincing him to accept electronic gift cards in exchange for nude photos and videos of himself, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw and Cinnaminson Police Chief William Obuchowski.
Police allege that Sebastian Romero arranged to meet the victim for a sexual encounter and began making threatening statements to his family after the youth failed to appear. Romero was taken into custody Aug. 2 at his residence during execution of a search warrant, where multiple electronic devices and other evidence were seized, according to a prosecutor’s office press release.
Romero was charged with the production of child sexual abuse material, impairing and or debauching the morals of a child, luring, aggravated sexual extortion, possession of child sexual abuse material and obscenity to a minor. He remains at the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly after being denied release during an Aug. 9 detention hearing in Superior Court.
The investigation began in July after the victim’s family contacted Cinnaminson police to report the underage youth’s interaction with Romero. Police say Romero initially contacted the victim – whose age he allegedly knew – in the chat room of an online gaming platform. Romero also allegedly obtained personal information about the victim before offering to purchase the photos and videos in questions.
The case will now be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment, the prosecutor’s release said. Information concerning the victim is being withheld because of his age.
The investigation was conducted by the prosecutor’s High-Tech Crimes Unit and Cinnaminson police, with help from the Franklin Township police, the Somerset County prosecutor’s office and the Cherry Hill office of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.
