Brick New Jersey State Trooper Charged With Soliciting Sex From Teen – Brick, NJ Shorebeat — News, Real Estate, Events, Community, Sports, Business

A New Jersey State Police trooper tried to set up a meeting with a teenage girl for sex after meeting them through a smartphone app, but the person on the other end of the conversation turned out to be an undercover detective, authorities said Tuesday, along with charges against the officer.

Shane H. Dempsey, 31, of Brick Township, is charged with second-degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child by permitting the child to engage in the production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), second-degree attempted prostitution, second-degree attempted luring, second-degree attempted sexual assault and third-degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child by sexual conduct.

An investigation into the case began earlier this year by a Monmouth County District Attorney’s Office detective acting as an undercover operative on the social media app Whisper. While monitoring the app, the detective was contacted by another user, later identified as Dempsey, who allegedly attempted to solicit sexually explicit images and “expressed a desire to pay money in exchange for a sexual act from someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl,” a statement from the district attorney’s office said.

On Monday, Dempsey was taken into custody without incident in Ewing, Mercer County, and transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI) pending further proceedings in Monmouth County Superior Court.

The New Jersey State Police Bureau of Professional Standards, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and the Brick Township Police Department assisted in this investigation and arrest, the prosecutor's office said.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Joseph Competello of the MCPO High Technology Bureau. Dempsey is being represented by attorney Charles J. Uliano of West Long Branch. Anyone with additional information about Dempsey's activities is encouraged to contact MCPO Detective Anthony Lacher at 800-533-7443.

No photos of Dempsey have been published.