Lakewood Man Charged In Attempt To Lure Teen Girl: Police

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A Lakewood man has been charged in connection with an incident where a 16-year-old girl reported a man tried to lure her into a vehicle for sex, Lakewood police said Sunday.

Julio Anchia, 40, was arrested following a two-week investigation, police said.

The incident happened March 31, police said.

The girl told police a man approached her in the Highpoint Condominium Complex and tried to get her to get into his vehicle for sex.

The girl not only refused his advances, she "thought quickly enough to surreptitiously record the suspect on her phone as he became more and more insistent that she give in to his demands," police said.

The girl did not know the man, police said, but on Thursday a concerned citizen helped to identify him as Anchia.

Detective Patrick Kearns tried to locate Anchia at his home, but he had left the area, police said.

After several additional leads regarding his whereabouts were exhausted, criminal charges were approved by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and notification was made statewide in hope that another law enforcement agency may have some information or apprehend him, police said.

On Sunday, Anchia turned himself in. He was arrested and served with his charges of second-degree attempted luring, second-degree attempted sexual assault, and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Anchia is being held at the Ocean County Jail.

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