Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw announced that a 28-year-old Beverly City man was recently arraigned in Superior Court on a seven-count indictment charging him with meeting underage girls in online chat rooms and convincing them to send him sexually explicit videos of themselves in exchange for payment.
Michael Monroe pled not guilty June 1 in Mount Holly to three counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (First Degree) by causing the child to engage in the creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Second Degree) for possessing and distributing CSAM, and two similar third-degree charges.
The case will now proceed to trial. Monroe is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Keith Carmy, supervisor of the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit.
The investigation began after the High-Tech Crimes Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children concerning Monroe’s online activities.
The investigation revealed that Monroe propositioned multiple underage girls on several different online platforms, promising to send money, gift cards, cell phones, sex toys, online gaming currency and other gifts if they would create sexually explicit videos of themselves alone or with male family members. In addition to the gifts, Monroe promised that those who sent him a recording would in turn receive one of him having sex with his underage sister.
Three separate victims were identified during the investigation. Detectives believe additional victims may exist. Anyone who suspects that their child was approached online by the defendant is urged to contact the Prosecutor’s Office at tips@co.burlington.nj.us.
The investigation was conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office. The lead investigator is Det. Troy Sudeck.
All persons are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.