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Gary Cramer, 29, of Bridgeton (left), was sentenced in Camden County Superior Court Friday, Nov. 7, 2014 for directing Rachael Baker, of Winslow Township (right), to initiate sex acts between an 8-year-old girl and 13-year-old boy and have Baker send him photographs. (NJ Attorney General's Office)

CAMDEN — A Bridgeton man was sentenced to 55 years in state prison Friday for directing a woman to initiate sexual activities involving two children — a 13-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl — and send him photos, according to a news release from the state Office of the Attorney General.

Gary T. Cramer, 30, was found guilty by a Camden County jury on June 2 on two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree conspiracy and 10 counts of endangering the welfare of a child, the OAG said.

The child endangerment counts included possession, distribution and manufacturing of child pornography related to the photos that the woman, Rachael Baker, 24, of Winslow Township, sent Cramer, authorities said.

“Cramer was viciously calculating in the way that he manipulated Baker so that he could sexually exploit the two young victims,” said Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman. “We’ve ensured that this dangerous child predator will stay in prison for many years, where he won’t be able to harm other innocent children.”

According to the news release, Cramer met a woman, Rachael Baker, 24, of Winslow Township, online and started a sexual relationship with her. He manipulated her in order to gain access to the boy and girl for sexual purposes.

Between August 2010 and January 2011, the state presented testimony and evidence at trial.

On one occasion, Cramer spoke with Baker and the boy by phone, urging them to engage in sexual intercourse, which they did, while Cramer listened and masturbated, the OAG said.

According to the OAG, Cramer pressured Baker to take sexual photos of the girl and have the girl and the boy engage in a sexual act, so she could photograph it for him. Baker directed the girl to perform oral sex on the boy, took a photo of the act and sent to Cramer’s phone. Baker also sent other pornographic photos she took of the girl to Cramer. Cramer asked Baker to let him engage in sexual conduct with the girl, but Baker refused.

In 2012, Baker pleaded to two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and other charges. She was sentenced on Feb. 28 to 10 years in prison, including eight-and-a-half years of parole ineligibility.

In addition, an investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice also led to charges against a second woman connected to Cramer — Stephanie Bennett, 28, of Woodbine — who was indicted separately on June 27, 2011, according to the OAG.

The OAG said that Cramer also had a sexual relationship with Bennett, and the two communicated via text message about her sexual conduct involving (a) infant.

The investigation began when police received information about those communications. State police detectives initially arrested Baker on Jan. 23, 2011, and they arrested Cramer and Bennett on Feb. 16, 2011.

That investigation revealed that Bennett made a cellphone video of herself performing oral sex on an infant boy, the news release said. She pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree charge of child abuse and neglect and was sentenced on Dec. 6, 2013 to time served. She served roughly two years in jail prior to sentencing.

Deputy Attorney Generals Denise Grugan and Sarah Lichter tried the case and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice and Computer Crimes Bureau.

“Child predators are increasingly using technology to pursue their decent desires — from sharing child pornography online, to luring victims on social media — to a case like this, where Cramer remotely directed sexual assaults on children using his cellphone and conspired to produced child pornography,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “Cramer was caught because we received a tip about his suspicious cellphone communications. We urge members of the public to alert us if they learn of computer or cellphone activity that may involve the sexual abuse of children.”

Hoffman and Elie Honig, director of the Division of Criminal Justice, noted that the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has a confidential tip line 888–648–6007 for people to report suspected improper contact of those communicating with children through the Internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children.

Cramer — who had two prior child pornography convictions — was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Holden in Camden.

He is subject to the No Early Release Act, and must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence or 38 years before being eligible for a parole.

Deputy Attorney General Kenneth Sharpe, Deputy Chief of the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau, was assigned to the investigation. He indicted the case, took the pleas from Baker and Bennett, and assisted Deputy Attorneys General Grugan and Lichter at the trial of Cramer.

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Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.