Robert Reinhart, 52, of Telford.
A Telford man is facing multiple felony charges after he allegedly travelled to West Deptford, NJ to have sex with a 14-year-old girl.
Robert Reinhart, 52, has been charged with felony counts of lurking, attempted sexual assault and attempted human trafficking, in connection with a joint investigation involving multiple law enforcement and child advocacy agencies across New Jersey. Reinhart’s arrest was one of 31 arrests announced by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday, stemming from the collaborative investigation dubbed “Operation 24/7.”
“Through major cooperative efforts like Operation 24/7, we are sending a message to sex offenders that if you threaten or exploit children, we will identify and arrest you,” said Director Lyndsay Ruotolo of the Division of Criminal Justice. “In addition to pursuing tips from NCMEC, we routinely conduct proactive investigations on social media platforms and peer-to-peer file-sharing networks to identify online predators and offenders distributing child sexual abuse materials. There can be no higher priority than protecting our children.”
Investigators allege that Reinhart communicated via text messages with an undercover detective who was posing as the adult sister of a non-existent 14-year-old girl. Reinhart allegedly agreed to pay the older sister $300 in order to have sex with her younger sister, and was subsequently arrested on April 1 in West Deptford while he was attempting to meet with the teen at a hotel, investigators said.
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal the Operation 24/7 arrests were made between April 1 and June 30. Ages of the accused ranged from 18-to-65-years-old.
“Through these collaborative operations with the ICAC Task Force, we are working tirelessly to arrest child predators and those who exploit children by possessing and distributing child sexual abuse materials,” said Attorney General Grewal. “With young people continuing to spend more time on their electronic devices due to the COVID pandemic, we must remain vigilant. We urge parents and guardians to warn children about the threats that exist on social media and popular gaming sites, and to watch for signs that a child has been subjected to online abuse.”
Grewal said the number of cybertips to the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force has increased noticeably since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, including 3,324 tips received during the first six months of 2021. In 2019, there were 2,393 tips submitted, however in 2020 — which included 10 months of the pandemic — the amount of cybertips skyrocketed to 6,130 for the year.
Totals for 2021 are on pace to exceed those from 2020, Grewal said.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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