TRENTON, NJ — On Aug. 26, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced the arrests of 21 individuals who are charged with sexually exploiting children online. The 19 men, one woman and one juvenile male were arrested in “Operation Screen Capture,” a collaborative operation launched in response to a dramatic increase in reports of potential threats to children from online predators during the COVID pandemic.
Three defendants — two men and one woman — are charged with sexually assaulting or attempting to sexually assault children. Eighteen are charged with endangering the welfare of children for possession and/or distribution of child sexual abuse materials, including, in many cases, child rape videos.
The arrests, made between March 18 and July 31, include the following cases:
- Aaron Craiger, 34, of Oklahoma, a registered sex offender, was arrested on March 18 at a motel in Atlantic City after he allegedly traveled from Oklahoma to meet two men who offered him access to underage girls for sex. In reality, the defendant had communicated with undercover investigators from the New Jersey State Police and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. One investigator pretended to offer his 12-year-old daughter for sex, and the other, his girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter. Craiger, who had condoms with him when arrested, also allegedly possessed and distributed child sexual abuse materials.
- Jason Berry, 40, of Keansburg, allegedly sexually exploited a 14-year-old girl he met on social media, manipulating her into sending him naked pictures of herself engaging in sexual acts. He allegedly had the girl carve his initials into her legs. He then tricked the girl into revealing her mother’s phone number and sent those images to her mother.
- Alize Tejada, 21, of Newark, allegedly sexually assaulted a very young child. She allegedly videotaped herself performing a sexual act on the child and posted the video on social media.
Craiger, Berry and Tejada are being prosecuted by the Division of Criminal Justice. They were ordered detained in jail pending trial. The Division of Criminal Justice is also prosecuting six defendants charged with possessing and/or distributing child sexual abuse materials. The 12 other defendants are being prosecuted by the nine county prosecutors’ offices.
Cyber tips to the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force about potential threats to children online — including tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children — have increased up to 50 percent in New Jersey since the COVID emergency began in March, compared to the same timeframe last year. Many cases in this operation stemmed from cyber tips from NCMEC, but others involved undercover chat investigations where perpetrators were attempting to meet children or other individuals online in order to sexually assault children.
Operation Screen Capture was led by the Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey State Police, ICAC Task Force, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office. The New Jersey State Parole Board assisted with arrests and search warrants.
Area residents arrested in “Operation Screen Capture” were charged as follows:
- Alize Tejada, 21, of Newark, a babysitter, was arrested July 15 and charged with aggravated sexual assault in the first degree and manufacturing child pornography in the first degree.
- Raymond Radziewicz, 53, of Bloomfield, a former teaching assistant at a child care center who was terminated as a result of this arrest, was arrested July 7 and charged with distribution of child pornography in the second degree and possession of child pornography in the third degree.
- Dwayne McCormick, 25, of Orange, unemployed, was arrested July 8 and charged with distribution of child pornography in the second degree and possession of child pornography in the third degree.
First-degree charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $200,000. Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree charges carry a sentence of three of five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
The charges against the defendants are merely accusations and they are presumed innocent until proved guilty in a court of law.
“Reports to our Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force of potential predatory conduct against children are up as much as 50 percent during the COVID emergency as homebound children, starved for outside contact, spend more time on their devices, and opportunistic sexual predators target them online,” Grewal said. “We urge parents to be vigilant about the online activities of their children and warn children that the strangers they meet on popular social media sites, apps and gaming platforms may be out to harm them. We will continue to work overtime to arrest child predators and those who participate in the cruel exploitation of children by sharing child sexual abuse materials.”
In past cases, the ICAC Task Force has arrested child predators who used the following chat apps: Kik, Skout, Grindr, Whisper, Omegle, Tinder, Chat Avenue, ChatRoulette, Wishbone, Live.ly, Musical.ly, Paltalk, Yubo, Hot or Not, Down, and Tumblr. Arrests also have been made involving the gaming apps Fortnite, Minecraft and Discord. Grewal urged parents to familiarize themselves with these and other apps and warn their children about sharing information with strangers.
“As children return to virtual learning this fall, they will be spending even more time online, in many cases without any in-person teacher supervision or peer contact,” Grewal said. “This may make them even more vulnerable. We want parents to be aware of the dangers — and, as we highlighted in a recent virtual town hall with the State Police and Department of Children and Families, we want everyone to know that there are resources to help children who are struggling with social isolation or who may be victims of trauma or abuse.”
To view the town hall meeting, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMNHjMhVbYA&t=6s.
“Crimes against children are among the most disturbing, yet often the toughest to prosecute,” acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II said. “This joint effort underscores the willingness of law enforcement at all levels to work together to protect our most vulnerable from those who would use the internet and other means to prey upon children. In this age, when so many children are relying on computers for their education, entertainment and social life, we are committed to make the internet community as safe as possible.”
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