by Chris Swendeman, MCPO
FREEHOLD – An Ocean Township man pled guilty for his role in a 2019 luring and endangerment case, announced Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.
Barton Cross-Tierney 2nd, 31, of Ocean Township, pled guilty on Monday, February 9, 2022, in front of Judge Jill G. O’Malley, to third degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child and third-degree Exhibiting Obscenity to a Minor.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Cross-Tierney, faces up to 5 years in New Jersey State Prison, mandatory Megan’s Law registration and Parole Supervision for Life.
Throughout 2018, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office received multiple Cybertips regarding a user on Discord (an online chat platform that allows for text exchanges, voice communications, and video chats) engaging in inappropriate conversations with underage girls. In December 2018, a juvenile female contacted the FBI tip line and reported that she had engaged in an inappropriate online relationship with an adult male from Ocean, NJ, with the Discord username “Barton Cross.”
An investigation revealed that Barton Cross committed sexual acts while in a video chat with the juvenile victim. Further investigation revealed that Barton Cross was in communication with another juvenile victim on Discord. He also engaged in sexual acts while in a video chat with that juvenile victim.
A subsequent investigation conducted by members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit, the Ocean Township Police department, members of the ICAC Task Force, and the FBI determined “Barton Cross” to be Barton C. Cross-Tierney, of Franklin Parkway in Ocean Township, NJ.
Sentencing is scheduled before Judge O’Malley on May 13, 2022
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