TRENTON — A Flemington man arrested last year on charges of distributing child pornography was arrested again Friday after authorities said he asked an 11-year-old Colorado girl to send him nude pictures of herself, state Acting Attorney General John Hoffman said.

Thomas Piretti, 31, allegedly met the girl online using a Gameboy to access the Nintendo Network, chatting with her as they played Pokemon, which is popular with younger children. Piretti then began calling the girl after getting her home phone number and asked for the pictures and also for her to be his girlfriend, authorities said. The girl’s father learned of the calls and filed a complaint with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in December.

When he was arrested Friday, Piretti was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and also faces a second charge of distributing child pornography. The latest distribution charge was filed after Piretti allegedly sent and received hundreds of emails containing explicit material.

He was being held in the Hunterdon County Jail on $200,000 bail.

Piretti was one of nearly 30 men charged in July as part of Operation Predator Alert, a joint state and federal sweep targeting a network who allegedly shared child pornography online. Piretti asked another defendant in that case if he could date his 10-year-old daughter, authorities said.

“This case is a cautionary tale for parents, who need to be aware that their children may encounter sexual predators online in places they would not expect,” said Hoffman. “Pirretti allegedly used a children’s game and the chat feature offered by this gaming network to try to target this innocent young girl for sexual exploitation. Fortunately, her parents learned of his alleged predatory behavior and alerted law enforcement.”



Hoffman also urged anyone who may suspect improper online behavior between a child and adult to call the state's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force tip line, 888-648-6007.



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