NJ man accused of trying to lure kids into car

🚨 A Garfield man is accused of trying to lure two children into his car in Wallington, prompting swift police action and serious criminal charges.

⚖️ Authorities say the suspect now faces second-degree luring charges and is being held in Bergen County Jail awaiting court.

📉 The case adds to a troubling rise in child luring incidents across New Jersey involving both in-person and online attempts.

WALLINGTON — A Garfield man has been arrested and charged with child luring, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced.

Garfield man accused of child luring in Wallington neighborhood

An investigation by the prosecutor’s office and the Wallington Police Department revealed that Mark Jankowski, 43, was in a car at the intersection of Hayward Place and Locust Avenue on Friday, April 10, when he tried to lure two children into his vehicle.

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Arrest made, suspect faces second-degree luring charges

Jankowski was arrested in Wallington and charged with two counts of second-degree luring.

He is in the Bergen County Jail pending a first court appearance in Bergen County Superior Court.

Spike in child luring cases reported across New Jersey

There have been other cases of attempted child luring in New Jersey this year.

On February 4, 2026, Gustavo Sosa, 31, of Pennsauken, was arrested following an undercover operation by the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and the Cherry Hill Police Department.

Sosa allegedly began online chats with an undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old girl, arranging to meet at a park for sex in exchange for money. He was arrested and faces multiple charges.

In January 2026, a Deptford man was arrested and charged with attempting to meet with an underage boy for sex, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.

Joseph Catrambone, 38, began chatting online with someone he believed was a teenage boy. But it turned out to be an undercover detective. Catrambone was arrested at a pre-arranged location in Collingswood and faces multiple charges, as well.

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