August 25, 2023
PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP, NJ (BURLINGTON)–Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw and Acting Pemberton Township Police Chief Jason Luis announced that a Pemberton Township School District employee was arrested today and charged with trying to arrange a sexual encounter with an underage female student.
Christopher J. Perry, 34, of Piute Trail in Browns Mills, was charged with Attempted Sexual Assault (Second Degree), Enticing a Minor (Second Degree), Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Third Degree) and Attempted Criminal Sexual Contact (Fourth Degree). Perry will be lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly pending a first appearance in Superior Court. The case will now be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment.
The investigation began last month after Perry, who is employed by the district as an Information Technology Coordinator, contacted the student through Snapchat. The student’s parents notified school officials, who contacted police. A BCPO investigator continued the text exchange with Perry, who believed he was still communicating with the 15-year-old student.
During the text exchange, Perry described in detail the sexual acts he wanted to perform on the student. He made arrangements to pick her up in his personal vehicle this afternoon at a park in Browns Mills. But when he arrived, instead of meeting the student, he was taken into custody by law enforcement officers. A short time earlier, Perry had been observed stopping at a drug store to purchase condoms on his way to the meeting location.
“I commend the parents of this young girl for reporting this interaction,” Prosecutor Bradshaw said. “It cannot be stressed enough how important it is for parents to be aware of what their children are doing online. This case strongly demonstrates how easy it is for the predators who prowl around cyberspace to quickly materialize in person as very real, very dangerous threats to those that we love and are supposed to protect.”
The investigation, which is continuing, is being conducted by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Pemberton Township Police Department. The lead investigators are BCPO Detective Arek Arargil and PTPD Detective Brenna Stone.
Anyone who possesses information concerning this defendant that might be useful to investigators is urged to call the Pemberton Township Police Department’s tip line at 609-894-3352.
All persons are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Christopher J. Perry, 34, of Piute Trail in Browns Mills, was charged with Attempted Sexual Assault (Second Degree), Enticing a Minor (Second Degree), Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Third Degree) and Attempted Criminal Sexual Contact (Fourth Degree). Perry will be lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly pending a first appearance in Superior Court. The case will now be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment.