Camden County, NJ – A Camden man has been arrested and charged for seeking sexually explicit photos from a 7-year-old girl after chatting on a popular social media application, reported Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay.
Elmer Lao, 36, was charged with 2nd-degree Attempted Manufacturing of Child Sexual Abuse Material and 3rd-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
On Monday, July 20, 2026, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and High Tech Crimes Unit began an investigation regarding a 7-year-old girl who disclosed that an adult male had begun sending her messages on TikTok and by text message.
Through the investigation, it was determined that the suspect, later identified as Lao, had engaged in messaging conversations with the victim, whom he knew to be seven years old. During those messages, Lao sent nude videos of himself to the victim and requested that the girl send nude photographs of herself in return.
During a search of Lao’s residence on July 22, 2026, K9 Rookie – a trained electronic detection dog – located a cell phone in the defendant’s bedroom. The cell phone was ultimately determined to have been used to message the victim.
Lao was taken into custody that day and remanded to the Camden County Correctional Facility, pending a detention hearing.
“Predators often use social media and messaging apps to target children, making parental involvement more important than ever,” said Prosecutor MacAulay. “I urge every parent to regularly monitor their child’s messages on TikTok and other social media platforms and to have ongoing conversations about online safety and the risks of communicating with strangers.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Jessica Minniti of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at (856) 225-8537. Tips may also be sent to CAMDEN.TIPS.
All individuals charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.