WLB man accused of sexually assaulting 12-year-old

Following a two month long investigation, Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo, Merchantville Police Chief Wayne Bauer and Cherry Hill Police Chief William Monaghan announced that on Tuesday, August 15,  Anthony M. Woods, a 20-year-old West Long Branch resident, was arrested.

He has been charged with twenty-two criminal offenses including Sexual Assault and Endangering the Welfare of a Child which occurred on diverse dates between May 1 and July 1, 2017 in Merchantville and Cherry Hill, NJ.

Camden County prosecutors say the investigation revealed Woods met a 12-year-old female over the Internet. Through their Internet communication, Woods had directed the exchange of sexually explicit photographs and videos with this 12-year-old victim. Woods also elicited the victim’s home address, picked her up at her residence in Cherry Hill and drove her to Merchantville, where he sexually assaulted her.

As a result, law enforcement executed two search warrants on the morning of August 15, of Woods’ residence and his motor vehicle. The search warrants revealed electronic devices which were seized to be further analyzed at the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office. Woods’ motor vehicle was also seized as evidence.

This investigation was a result of the collaborative efforts of Detectives from the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims and Crime

Scene Units, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the Merchantville Police Department, the West Long Branch Police Department, and the Cherry Hill Police Department.

Woods was processed and remanded to the Camden County Correctional Facility.

All persons charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.