Canadian Man Traveled To NJ For Sexual Contact With Minor, Feds Say

ESSEX COUNTY – A Canadian man traveled across international borders to New Jersey in order to engage in sexual activity with a minor at a North Jersey hotel room, federal officials said.

Patrick John Anthony Coderre, also known as “T Ocean,” 53, of Ontario, Canada, was charged with one count of travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Friday.

Coderre is currently detained without bail. It wasn’t immediately clear where he is lodged.

The Canadian national was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport on Oct. 27 after he met undercover officers for what he believed would be a sexual encounter with one or more children at a hotel, Sellinger said.

Federal authorities have been investigating Coderre since March 2019 for child exploitation offenses, Sellinger said. According to an affidavit of probable cause, Coderre talked extensively about his desire for sexual encounters with young children with two undercover agents using three seperate identities.

The charge of travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.