This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

Morris County Man Sentenced to Five Years For Attempted Luring

The Florham Park man attempted to arrange a sexual encounter with a Prosecutor's Office detective he believed was a teenage girl.

A Morris County man has been sentenced to five years flat time in state prison for attempted luring, Acting Atlantic County Prosecutor James P. McClain announced on Thursday, Oct. 18.

Stephen Bubniak, 56, of Florham Park, believed he was arranging a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl he met online, but that person was, in reality, an undercover Prosecutor's Office Detective, according to McClain.

Bubniak plead guilty to second-degree attempted luring and third-degree attempted endangering on Oct. 17, 2011, McClain said.

Find out what's happening in Gallowaywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Bubniak began engaging in online conversations with the detective he believed to be a teenage girl in January of 2011, and arranged for an encounter to take place at a hotel room in Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, on Feb. 3, 2011, McClain said.

Upon his arrival, Bubniak was arrested by detectives and lodged in the Atlantic County Justice Facility on $250,000 bail, McClain said. Further investigations showed Bubniak had another encounter scheduled for the following day, McClain said. That was to be with what Bubniak believed was a 13-year-old girl, but was also a detective, and he was charged with that crime on Feb. 7, McClain said.

Find out what's happening in Gallowaywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to Janet Gravitz, who represented the state in this matter, an investigation of the hotel turned up gift cards Bubniak promised to buy for the undercover detectives, McClain said.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.