A registered sex offender from Falls Township is again in trouble with the law, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Gregory J. Barger, 38, of Falls Township’s Morrisville section, was indicted on February 15 on one count of sexual exploitation of a child – production of child pornography, and one count of coercion and enticement – online enticement of a minor. He was arraigned by U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court earlier this week.
Barger was held pending a trial, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
Barger is accused of using an electronic messaging application to communicate with a minor in the U.K. from August 5, 2020 through April 7, 2022, according to U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger.
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Court documents said that Barger induced the minor to engage in sexual conduct when he traveled to the U.K. in February 2022 to produce explicit images and videos.
The explicit materials were later found on Barger’s cell phone that seized during an incident in Hamilton Township, New Jersey in April 2022, authorities said.
The federal prosecutor’s office said the charges carry severe penalties due to Barger’s status as a registered sex offender.
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The production of child pornography charge includes a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and could extend up to 50 years in prison. It comes alongside a $250,000 fine. The charge of online enticement of a minor carries a minimum of 10 years to a potential life sentence and comes with a $250,000 fine, authorities said.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Mercer County (New Jersey) Prosecutor’s Office.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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