A 36-year-old Camden man was charged with soliciting sexually explicit photos from a 7-year-old girl after a specially trained K-9 dog found the phone the man allegedly used to message the victim, Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay said Wednesday.
Elmer Lao was arrested on July 22 after a search was conducted at his residence and the phone was discovered in his bedroom by K-9 dog named Rookie, who is trained to detect electronic devices, MacAulay said.
Lao was charged with second-degree attempted manufacturing of child sexual abuse material and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child. He was being held at the Camden County Correctional Facility pending a detention hearing, MacAulay said.
On July 20, the prosecutor’s office Special Victims Unit and High Tech Crimes Unit began the investigation after the 7-year-old girl disclosed that a man had begun sending her messages on TikTok and by text message, MacAulay said.
Investigators determined that Lao allegedly engaged in messaging conversations with the girl, whom he knew to be 7 years old, MacAulay said.
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Lao allegedly sent nude videos of himself to the girl and requested that the girl send nude photos of herself in return, MacAulay said.
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“Predators often use social media and messaging apps to target children, making parental involvement more important than ever,” MacAulay said in a statement.
“I urge every parent to regularly monitor their child’s messages on TikTok and other social media platforms and to have ongoing conversations about online safety and the risks of communicating with strangers,” MacAulay said.
Anyone with information that could be helpful to the investigation can contact Detective Jessica Minniti of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at 856-225-8537. Tips may also be sent to CAMDEN.TIPS.
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