A 32-year-old man from Morris County was caught in a sting operation last week after he was allegedly using a social media app to try to meet children for sex, authorities said.
Ryan Hendershot, of Rockaway Borough, was arrested Friday on charges of attempted sexual assault, attempted luring, obscenity, attempted criminal sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of attempted endangering the welfare of a child, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Hendershot is accused of having sexually explicit conversations over Snapchat with an undercover law enforcement officer from Polk County, Minnesota, who he believed was a 14-year-old girl, officials said.
Detectives with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office took over the investigation when it was determined that the Snapchat user was a Morris County resident, later identified as Hendershot, authorities said.
He then engaged in sexual conversations with an undercover officer from Morris County, who was posing a 13-year-old and 11-year-old girl, prosecutors alleged.
During his conversations with who he believed was the 13-year-old, Hendershot sent an explicit video of himself and arranged an in-person meetup, officials said.
Hendershot is in custody at the Morris County Correctional Facility pending a detention hearing.
Stories by Nicolas Fernandes
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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com.