NJ Youth Pastor Charged With 75 Child Sex Counts

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

A Burlington County man who served as a youth pastor has been indicted on charges that he sexually exploited underage boys, deceiving them into sending him explicit images, then blackmailing them into performing lewd acts so he could watch and record them remotely, authorities said Friday.

Sean Higgins, 31, of Palmyra, has been in custody since he was arrested in October 2020. He is accused of victimizing 13 boys ages 12 to 17 who were living in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Tennessee.

A grand jury this week indicted Higgins on 75 total counts that included charges of endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, cyber harassment, and obscenity to a minor.

Patch reports:



Higgins adopted the persona of a teenage girl he named Julie Miller and then used Snapchat and Instagram to start talking with underage boys, the prosecutor said.

After a bond was forged between ‘Julie Miller’ and each of the underage boys, Higgins “would suggest that they trade photos. Higgins would then send pictures” of an unidentified teenage girl, the prosecutor’s office stated.

Higgins would take a screenshot of the teenage boys’ friends who were listed on their phones, “send that screenshot back to the victim and threaten to send the nude photos he had just received to the list of the victim’s friends unless the victim did exactly what Higgins demanded,” the prosecutor’s office stated.