25 Years In Prison For NJ Pastor Who Sexually Exploited Boys Online

PALMYRA, NJ — A New Jersey youth pastor who pleaded guilty to using social media to blackmail underage boys into performing sex acts was sentenced Monday to 25 years in state prison, authorities said.

Sean Higgins, 32, previously made a plea agreement after admitting to four counts of endangering the welfare of children, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said in a statement. Three of these counts are first-degree crimes, and one is a third-degree crime.

Each count represents a separate victim, officials said. He must serve 85 percent of the 25-year term before becoming eligible for parole.

“The crimes committed by this defendant are among the cruelest, most depraved ever prosecuted by this office,” Bradshaw said. “Some of these victims contemplated suicide to get out from under the extreme anguish that accompanied the defendant’s debauched, unrelenting demands. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is for parents to routinely discuss with their children the dangers that lurk in cyberspace.”

Higgins has been in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly since October 2020, when he was one of 15 people arrested as part of a mass crackdown on child pornography during the coronavirus pandemic.

Officials said Higgins committed the crimes in 2020, when he was the youth pastor and music leader at Harbor Baptist Church in Hainesport and was a teacher at the adjacent K-12 school. None of the victims were members of the church or students at the school, officials said.

The investigation into Higgins began after a juvenile in Berks County, Pa. contacted Snapchat about "an unknown female," who really was Higgins, threatening to expose his nude photographs. Another juvenile male in Alabama told law enforcement he had communicated with Higgins, the prosecutor's office said.

After his 2020 arrest, officials executed a search warrant at Higgins' house and the church and found multiple electronic devices, according to the prosecutor.

Higgins adopted the persona of a teenage girl called Julie Miller and then used Snapchat and Instagram to start talking with underage boys, the prosecutor said.

After a bond was forged between "Julie Miller" and each of the underage boys, Higgins "would suggest that they trade photos. Higgins would then send pictures" of an unidentified teenage girl, " the prosecutor's office said.

Higgins often received nude pictures of the teenage boys in return, according to the prosecutor.

Higgins would take a screenshot of the teenage boys' friends who were listed on their phones, "send that screenshot back to the victim and threaten to send the nude photos he had just received to the list of the victim’s friends unless the victim did exactly what Higgins demanded," the prosecutor's office stated.

"In most of the cases that were investigated, Higgins then demanded that his victims go into the bathroom at their residence and place the phone on the floor, or at an angle looking up, and would instruct the victims to masturbate or perform sexual acts on themselves. Higgins would record what was transpiring," the prosecutor's office said.

The teenage boys often begged Higgins to let them stop this behavior, but he would threaten to send the recordings he was making to the teenage boys' friends if they ceased following his commands, according to the prosecutor.

“Sexual exploitation of a child is a repulsive crime that lasts a lifetime and Sean Higgins betrayed the trust of his community by victimizing children,” said Homeland Security Investigations Newark Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel. “HSI will continue to work tirelessly with our partners around the clock to protect our children from predators.”