Michael Marchionese

By Sam Barron From Daily Voice

A 51-year-old Pine Hill man was arrested and charged with attempting to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex, authorities announced Friday, Dec. 5.

In October, Michael Marchionese began communicating online with a person who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, Camden County Prosecutor Grace MacAulay and Pine Hill Police Chief Christopher Winters said. 

The person chatting with Marchionese was actually an undercover detective from the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crimes Unit, authorities said. The conversation later moved from online to text messaging and continued over the course of multiple weeks, authorities said. 

During the conversation, Marchionese made multiple requests for nude photographs of the girl, authorities said. 

He ultimately arranged to meet the girl at a hotel in Cherry Hill for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity, authorities said. On Friday, Nov. 21, Marchionese was arrested at his home in Pine Hill by the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New York Regional Fugitive Task Force – Camden Division, authorities said.

A cell phone seized from Marchionese was determined to be the device used to communicate with the person who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, authorities said. 

He is charged with four counts of attempted manufacturing of child sexual abuse material, attempting to lure a child, attempted sexual assault of a minor and attempted endangering the welfare of a child, authorities said.