CAMDEN, N.J. — A Philadelphia man admitted using an internet-based chat app to entice a minor to engage in prostitution following an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark.
Louis Goldenberg, 41, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution Sept. 18 at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Camden.
“Goldenberg admitted heinous desires to exploit a minor child while under the watchful eye of our special agents, who were quick to intervene,” said HSI Newark acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “Thanks to our partners in this investigation, specifically the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office, the Mount Laurel Police Department and the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, we were able to identify and remove this predator from our community. HSI’s top priority in child exploitation investigations is to protect vulnerable children from the despicable and irreversible harm caused by deviant consumers of child sexual abuse material.”
According to the investigation, in August 2023, Goldenberg began interacting on a messaging application with an undercover agent, who was posing as a middle-aged woman with a 12-year-old niece. From August through September 2023, Goldenberg messaged the undercover agent, continuously expressing interest in having sexual contact with the minor. During one of the conversations, Goldenberg indicated a specific hotel in Mt. Laurel, where he wanted to have sex with the minor. On Sept. 18, 2023, Goldenberg traveled from Pennsylvania to the Mt. Laurel hotel, where he had a reservation for that evening. When Goldenberg arrived, he was arrested by law enforcement.
The charge to which Goldenberg pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum term of incarceration of 10 years in prison, a potential maximum term of life in prison, and up to a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2025.
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