JAMESBURG, NJ—Law enforcement officials announced the arrest of a 50-year-old resident of Jamesburg after the man allegedly texted “a lewd photo of himself” to an undercover cop who was pretending to be a 15-year-old girl.

Linus Germe was arrested and charged on the evening of October 5, according to the official statement from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO).

According to the statement, “an undercover police officer… was posing as a 15-year-old girl who had been targeted by the defendant earlier in the day.”

The statement credited Detective Patrick Smith of the Jamesburg Police Department and Detective Felix De La Cruz of the MCPO.  It’s not clear who was posing as the 15-year-old.

“The investigation showed that Germe gave the 15-year-old girl his text number and asked her to contact him,” reads the MCPO statement.  “The girl told her father and police were contacted.”

The undercover officer subsequently posed as the 15-year-old girl and texted Germe. He replied with text messages that included the lewd photo.

The investigation was characterized as “active and… continuing” in the statement, which was obtained by New Brunswick Today despite all of our reporters being removed from their press list.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Smith of the Jamesburg Police Department at (732) 521-0011, or Detective De La Cruz of the MCPO at (732) 745-3300.

Germe remains at the Middlesex County Jail, where he is being held on $75,000 bail.  The jail’s records department confirmed does not have the option to pay 10% to get out on a bond.

Though the MCPO statement included the now-standard statement about the charge being “merely an accusation and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” the agency took the liberty of sharing Germe’s “mugshot” with those who recieve its press releases.

Editor at New Brunswick Today | 732-993-9697 | editor@newbrunswicktoday.com | Website

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.