NJ State Trooper Sought Sex From Teen Girl, Prosecutor Says

FREEHOLD, NJ — A New Jersey State Trooper from Brick Township was arrested after he offered to pay to have sex with someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl and asked for sexually graphic images from her, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday.

Shane H. Dempsey, 31, has been charged with second-degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child, via permitting the child to engage in the production of child sexual abuse materials, Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said.

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Dempsey also is charged with second-degree attempted engaging in prostitution, second-degree attempted luring, second-degree attempted sexual assault, and third-degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child via sexual conduct, the prosecutor's office said.

The investigation began earlier this year when a detective in the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office was monitoring activity undercover on the social media app Whisper, authorities said.

While monitoring the app, the detective was contacted by another user, later identified as Dempsey, who attempted to solicit sexually explicit images and expressed a desire to pay money in exchange for a sex act from a person he believed to be a 14-year-old female, Santiago said.

Dempsey was arrested without incident in Ewing and is being held at the Monmouth County jail in Freehold Township pending future court proceedings.

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