BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ – A 59 year-old Florida bus driver, Gregory P. Tibbetts, has been recently apprehended in an operation led by the Westampton Township Police Department. He has been charged with Luring (Second Degree), Attempted Sexual Assault (Second Degree), Impairing/Debauching the Morals of a Minor (Third Degree), and Attempted Criminal Sexual Contact (Fourth Degree).
Believing he was exchanging messages with a 14-year-old, Tibbetts disclosed in explicit detail the sexual acts he planned to execute with the minor. However, unbeknownst to him, he was in fact communicating with detectives who had been alerted to his intentions.
The investigation initiated on June 5, when Tibbetts, who was in transit due to his job responsibilities, informed a hotel employee about his intentions to meet with an underage individual for sexual conduct.
The hotel employee, under the guidance of the police, provided a contact number to Tibbetts, setting the stage for the subsequent sting operation.
Tibbetts was arrested at the hotel on Wednesday and remains in custody at the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly, pending a detention hearing in Superior Court. The case is being prepared for presentation to a grand jury for potential indictment.
