According to officials on Wednesday, a Passaic County firefighter was detained earlier this month for allegedly attempting to meet a 13-year-old girl as part of a New Jersey State Police undercover sting.
Bradford Flaker, 42, of Hawthorne, was charged on June 5 with several counts of producing, having, and disseminating materials related to child sexual abuse, as well as first-degree endangerment, second-degree enticing, and second-degree attempted sexual assault.
Flaker serves with the Hawthorne Volunteer Fire Department as a second lieutenant. According to Fire Chief Joseph Speranza, he is presently on administrative leave while the accusations are being processed.
Flaker had been with the fire department for many years and worked his way up to the position of lieutenant, according to Speranza.
In a statement, Attorney General Matthew Platkin claimed that Flaker had secretly recorded gullible youngsters in his house using a hidden camera before disclosing the footage to others. Additionally, he allegedly made an attempt to meet and sexually abuse a minor.
Platkin claims that on May 21, Flaker reportedly contacted an undercover state trooper under the nickname SKIDDERTECH3 by posing as a 13-year-old girl on a mobile messaging app.
Investigators said the user told the undercover officer he preferred young girls.
According to officials, state police would eventually discover 12 images and 115 videos on Flaker’s messaging app that contained content related to child sexual abuse.
According to investigators, the inquiry also turned up chat records that purportedly demonstrated Flaker installed covert cameras in his toilet to monitor kids using the restroom at home.
Flaker is accused of setting up a meeting with the youngster at a Belmar park during the undercover conversation, where he allegedly threatened to sexually abuse the minor.
After speaking with the undercover agent and showing up at the designated spot, Flaker was taken into custody, according to the authorities.
According to Platkin’s statement, Flaker told investigators that he had met and interacted with a person he thought was 13 years old, had a hidden camera in his toilet that he used to capture youngsters, and had and shared pictures of child pornography.
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