Border patrol agent charged with soliciting sex from officer posing as girl in NJ
MORRIS COUNTY, N.J, - An investigation involving an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old in New Jersey ended with the arrest of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent in Michigan.
What we know:
Beginning in September 2024, Harry Peless is accused of having nearly daily sexually explicit online conversations with an undercover law enforcement officer, whom he believed to be a 13-year-old girl.
Officials say the 51-year-old also sent explicit videos of himself and child sexual abuse material, while asking the young girl to "run away and have sex."
The investigation further revealed that Peless, who was working as a border patrol agent in Michigan at the time, was logged onto the chat account while he was at work.
What's next:
Peless was arrested by FBI agents last week and charged with Attempted Sexual Assault, Endangering the Welfare of a Child – Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material, Endangering the Welfare of a Child – Sexual Conduct and related offenses in New Jersey.
He is also federally charged with Attempted Transfer of Obscene Material of a Minor by the U.S. Attorney's Office - Eastern District of Michigan.
The Source: Information from this article was sourced by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office - Eastern District of Michigan.