Child Under 13 Was Sexually Extorted By Milwaukee Man: Bergen County Prosecutors

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Milwaukee man was arrested by U.S. marshals on Tuesday for having sexually extorted a minor he met online and sending the child explicit photos, said Bergen County prosecutors Friday.

Christopher Battin, 34, was charged with sexual extortion of a child, lewdness, stalking, and child endangerment, said prosecutors.

Prosecutors said that on March 7, North Arlington Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit regarding a child under the age of 13 who was being contacted online by a stranger.

County detectives and police "quickly suspected that the online stranger may be an adult who was sexually extorting the child," prosecutors said.

During the investigation, they determined that the adult had explicit conversations with the child, sent sexually explicit photos of himself to the child, asked the child to send explicit photos back, and "made threats to expose the child’s online activity and photos while repeatedly contacting the child from different phone numbers," prosecutors said.

He was charged with second-degree aggravated sexual extortion against a child under the age of 13, third-degree child endangerment, fourth-degree lewdness, and fourth-degree stalking.

Battin was arrested in Milwaukee and taken to the Milwaukee County Jail to await extradition to Bergen County.

Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella thanked the North Arlington police, as well as the New York, New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Newark Division of the United States Marshals Service, the United States Marshals Service-Eastern Wisconsin Violent Offender Task Force; the Milwaukee police and Sheriff's Office, and others for their assistance.