In New Jersey, a pastor is accused of a child sex crime as the detectives claim that he forced a child to perform sex acts for him online, as reported by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
30 years-old Sean Higgins, impersonated as a teenage girl online and blackmailed at minimum 6 boys to send him their nudes. When the boys fulfilled his demands, he threatened them to leak their pictures in their friend list if they do not fulfill his further demands.
He forced the boys to do sex acts so that he could record them. The prosecutor’s office reported that Higgins impersonated as a girl named Julie Miller and stalked boys on Instagram and Snapchat.
Prosecutor Scott Coffina, in his statement, said that “When a boy would send a nude photo of himself, Higgins would instantly transform and warn the child, ‘I’ve got you,’ and threaten to circulate that photo if the child did not engage in additional sexual acts on camera for Higgins’s sick gratification.” He further added, “The desperation of these young boys who were put in this position by this predator is truly heartbreaking.”
According to the prosecutor, the victims begged Higgins in the video to allow them to stop. The prosecutor continued, “Higgins would demand that they complete his instructions, or face the consequences of having the recordings he was making of the abuse be sent to their list of friends.”
On Thursday, the police forcefully entered the home of the pastor when the pastor denied opening the door and arrested him. The detectives obtained the search warrant for both the court and the church where they found the electronic device.
The pastor is charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault, one count of sexual assault, six counts of manufacturing child sexual abuse material, six counts of endangering the welfare of a child, six counts of possession of child sex abuse material, contempt, and obstruction.