Ocean County Man Charged with Traveling to a Foreign Place to Engage in Sexual Conduct with a Minor

Press Release

TRENTON, N.J. - An Ocean County, New Jersey, man was arrested and charged with traveling to a foreign place to engage in sexual conduct with a minor, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

Jacob Bauer, 28, of Toms River, is charged by complaint with one count of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and one count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place. He made his initial appearance on April 2, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh in Trenton federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From December 1, 2023 through December 10, 2023, Bauer, then 27 years old, traveled from the United States to Norway to engage in sexual activity with a 14-year-old female. Once in Norway, Bauer, staying at a hotel, engaged in sexual activity with the victim on at least one occasion. After returning to the United States, Bauer communicated over social media platforms with the victim and others about his sexual activities with the victim. During those conversations, Bauer acknowledged the victim's age and status as a minor. After members of an online community that Bauer was active in learned of his sexual activities with a minor, Bauer was "doxxed" (his public information published online) by members of that community.

"Public safety is my number one priority for New Jersey's residents, and my office is laser focused on protecting children and ending their exploitation at the hands of abusers. The conduct here is as reprehensible as it is egregious: a then-27-year-old male took pains to plan international travel from New Jersey to Norway for the purpose of having sex with a 14-year-old girl. These charges underscore how we are standing up for the most vulnerable and will not tolerate the sexual abuse of children. I commend our partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, law enforcement members at the state and local levels, and our international partners who assisted with this investigation."

U.S. Attorney Alina Habba

"We have federal laws protecting children because they cannot defend themselves," said Newark FBI Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly. Most of these investigations go unnoticed because we do all we can to protect the innocent victims. However, the work FBI Newark agents and task force officers are doing should be heralded by all of us. Day in and day out - they are saving children who shouldn't have to experience unspeakable horrors and abuse perpetrated by child sexual predators."

Each of the charges, traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place, carries a potential maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Habba credited the special agents and task force officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. She also thanked the New Brunswick Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Vincent Sabo, the Manchester Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Antonio Ellis, the FBI Legal Attaché Office, U.S. Embassy, Copenhagen, Denmark, the FBI Legal Attaché Office, U.S. Embassy, Warsaw, Poland, the Jackson County, Georgia Sheriff's Office, INTERPOL, the Norwegian Politiet, Troms District, the Norwegian Politiet, NC3 KRIPOS, and the Poland Policja CBZC, Central Cybercrime Bureau for their assistance in the investigation.

The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick of the U.S. Attorney's Office's Criminal Division in Trenton.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Defense counsel: Andrea Aldana, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender

Updated April 16, 2025