Morrisville, PA man faces 2 sets of sex charges in NJ

🚨Gregory J. Barger was arrested in 2022 after setting up a meeting with a minor

🚨He was met instead by local, county and federal law enforcement agents

🚨He also flew to the U.K. for sex with a minor and took images and video

A Morrisville, PA man charged and arrested for allegedly using social media to lure who he thought was a teenage girl for sexual activity as part of a multi-state investigation made his first court appearance Friday.

Gregory J. Barger, 38, was one of 21 men from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia arrested in April, 2022 as part of Operation Risky Business, a multi-law enforcement agency investigation. The defendants went to an undercover residence in Hamilton Township or another meet-up spot between April 7 and April 10, 2022 to find their supposed victims.

Instead, they found officers prepared to make an arrest and process any evidence seized.

Earlier meet up in the U.K. earns additional charges

Barger was also charged with producing videos and images depicting child sexual abuse in connection with his communications via an app with a minor in the United Kingdom, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.

After trying to get the minor to engage in sexual activity between August 2020 and Barger traveled to the UK in February 2022. He took images and video of himself having sex with the minor which were discovered following his arrest in April.

Because of Barger’s prior conviction, the charge of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 25 years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of 50 years in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine. The charge of online enticement of a minor carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine.

Operation Risky Business was a collaborative investigation led by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, the state Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey State Police, and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.

Previous reporting by Dino Flammia was used in this report.

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