Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of 37-year-old THOMAS G. RUTLEDGE of Green Lane, PA on charges of luring and endangering the welfare of a child. The arrest was the result of a months-long investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck and the Teaneck Police Department under the direction of Chief Andrew McGurr.
On Monday, February 19, 2024, the Teaneck Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit regarding an alleged incident of luring that occurred within their jurisdiction. An investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Teaneck Police Department revealed that a child under the age of 16 was contacted on the popular social media application Snapchat by an unknown person who engaged in sexually explicit conversations. While communicating online with the child, the unknown user arranged transportation for the child to meet him at a Teaneck, NJ hotel with the purpose to commit sexual acts against the child. Following a months-long investigation, detectives determined that the unknown user was THOMAS G. RUTLEDGE of Green Lane, PA, and notified both the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) and the Pennsylvania State Police.
As a result of the investigation, on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, THOMAS G. RUTLEDGE was charged with second-degree luring, N.J.S.A. 2C:13-6a; and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(1). RUTLEDGE was arrested at his Green Lane, PA residence by the Pennsylvania State Police and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility in Doylestown, PA pending extradition to Bergen County, NJ.
Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations, and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He would like to thank the Teaneck Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police for their assistance in this investigation.
