Sussex county, n.J., man charged with luring teenage boy, downloading child pornography
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
November 21, 2012 |
Engaged in On-line Chats with Others About Child Cannibalism
NEWARK, N.J. – A Sussex County, N.J. man charged with luring a teenage boy to Pennsylvania for sex as well as possessing child pornography on his home computer is expected to appear in federal court today, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Robert Mucha, 56, of Newton, N.J., is charged by Superseding Complaint with one count of enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of receiving child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography. He is expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court later today.
Mucha was arrested in his home on July 26, 2012, and was charged at the time with a single count of possessing child pornography. He has been detained by law enforcement since then.
According to the Superseding Complaint:
• Using Yahoo! Messenger, a web-based chat service, Mucha communicated regularly with a number of individuals who shared his sexual fascination with child cannibalism. Among Mucha’s chat partners was Michael D. Arnett, who was arrested and charged in May 2012 for production of child pornography by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas. On multiple occasions, Mucha and Arnett discussed their mutual interest in kidnapping, raping, and eating children.
• In October 2010, Mucha convinced a 15-year-old boy to travel from New Jersey to Pennsylvania to spend the day with him and then sleep over at Mucha’s apartment in Stroudsberg, Pa. After he was arrested in July 2012, Mucha admitted to sexual contact with the teenager.
• During a post-arrest statement, Mucha also admitted his interest in eroticized child cannibalism.
• Prior to his arrest, Mucha worked as a volunteer emergency medical technician in Andover, N.J. He also previously taught band and Bugle Corps to teenagers in Belleville, N.J., and Lakewood, N.J. During a post-arrest statement, Mucha admitted that over the course of his life he has touched hundreds of boys for his own sexual gratification.
The enticement count is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison and a fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s Superseding Complaint. He also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and the HSI Boston office.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or its online tip form at http://www.ice.gov/tips. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew J. Bruck of the General Crimes Unit and Matthew E. Beck, deputy chief of the General Crimes Unit, in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the Superseding Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Carol Gillen Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
