They exchanged explicit messages on chat and dating apps with profiles depicting teenage boys and girls, authorities claim. Some of them even showed up at an apartment in Bergen County expecting a sexual encounter.

A Ridgewood police officer. A teacher from the Bronx. A minister, a barber, a bank manager.

Thankfully, there were no children inside. Instead, they found dozens of law enforcement officials running a five-day sting operation that arrested 16 men accused of attempting to sexually abuse minors.

Local, state and federal authorities announced the results of the investigation, dubbed “Operation Home Alone,” at a press conference in Hackensack Wednesday morning.

Law enforcement announced charges against 16 men accused of attempting to lure minors over social media apps.

State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said they were trying to alert parents to the dangers children can face if they have unsupervised access to messaging apps.

“Parents need to know that the profiles of underage girls and boys we posted on social media to catch these offenders could easily have been profiles of their own children, who might also be targeted by predators on chat apps and popular gaming sites,” Grewal said.

Child predators arrested in N.J. Child predators used chat apps to lure minors for sex, N.J. authorities say. The Attorney General is discussing the arrest of 16 alleged child predators today. Posted by NJ.com on Wednesday, April 24, 2019

The investigation, which ran from April 11 through April 15, led to a range of charges including luring, attempted sexual assault – and, in some cases, possession of child pornography.

Authorities said the men allegedly used messaging apps like Kik and dating apps such as Skout, Grindr, MeetMe and Adam4Adam to connect with the detectives posing as minors. Despite identifying themselves as 14- and 15-year-olds, police claim, the men still engaged in conversations about sex and arranged to meet up.

Veronica Allende, the director of the state Division of Criminal Justice, said those arrested were from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

One man, Jason Keizer, 33, of Garfield, had already been convicted on child pornography charges and was awaiting sentencing at the time of his arrest. Two others are accused of sending explicit photos of themselves to the undercover detectives posing as teens.

One defendant traveled more than 110 miles to meet up with his alleged “victim,” Allende said.

Most of the men were arrested at the home in Bergen County, the location of which authorities declined to disclose. One man, Ridgewood police officer Peter Tuchol Jr., was arrested at the Paramus office of the Bergen County prosecutor. One was picked up by police at a shopping mall and two more arrested at home, prosecutors said.

Police seized phones and other electronic devices from the men and found the messages and, in a few cases, large amounts of child pornography.

The investigation was part of the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children task force, which conducted a similar sting last September, “Operation Open House,” leading to the arrest of 24 men.

Col. Patrick Callahan, the acting head of the New Jersey State Police, said such operations are meant to root out predators and also send a warning to anyone considering using social media to groom and abuse children.

“I hope in the back of their mind they think they’re talking to a New Jersey state trooper or a detective from a prosecutor’s office,” Callahan said.

Those charged include:

Tuchol, 28, of Waldwick, the Ridgewood police officer who has been suspended pending the outcome of his case. He faces additional charges for possessing steroids and drug paraphernalia, authorities say.

Kevin Roth, 26, Nanuet, New York, a teacher at the High School of Computers and Technology in the Bronx. Grewal said authorities notified the school district of the accusations.

Dariush Ghamarnezhad, 37, a dental hygienist from Pomona, New York.

Joel Guichardo, 38, a barbershop owner from Passaic.

Larry Noel Jr., 43, of Stanhope, a warehouse worker.

Shaheen Lariff, 49, of New City, New York, a bank branch office manager.

Rajan Lama, 33, Woodside, New York, a driver for a ride-sharing company.

Luis Gonzalez Palacio, 36, of Weehawkin, who works in finance for “a major internet service provider,” according to authorities. He is also accused of possessing more than 13,000 suspected files of child pornography on his phone at the time of his arrest.

Roger Arroyo, 37, a traveling minister from Philadelphia.

Yosef Kriger, 31, of New City, New York, a pharmaceuticals delivery driver.

Michael Mancini, 36, a supermarket employee and DJ from Hawthorne.

Teodoro Alvarez Ortega, 28, a restaurant server from Suffern,.

Jacob Smith, 26, a food delivery driver from New Rochelle, New York.

Jose Martinez, 47, a food delivery driver from Fairview.

Jason Keizer, 33, of Garfield, who is unemployed and awaiting sentencing on a separate child pornography conviction.

Hareshkum Tailor, 55, Garfield, a driver for a ride-sharing company.

Two of the men were ordered detained until trial. The rest were released under pre-trial supervision and are prohibited from using the internet or having contact with children.

It was not immediately clear whether any had retained attorneys and none could be reached for comment. Allende said the men would be “closely monitored to prevent them from engaging in other predatory conduct.”

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter.

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