A lifeguard with 20 years on the Atlantic City Beach Patrol faces nine criminal charges after Cherry Hill Police and Camden County prosecutors say he tried to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex in Cherry Hill on Thursday.

The girl was actually an undercover detective.

Stephen M. Pagnoni, 38, of Egg Harbor Township, began chatting online with the detective on Tuesday, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. During the conversation, Pagnoni arranged to meet the person he believed was a teenager for sex in exchange for money, authorities said.

Officers from Cherry Hill Police and the Camden County Prosecutor's Office High Tech Crimes Unit arrested Pagnoni at the meeting location, which NJ Pen identified as the Glen Point Apartments in Cherry Hill.

Charges

Pagnoni faces the following charges:

  • First-degree attempted manufacturing of child sexual abuse material
  • Second-degree attempting to lure a child
  • Second-degree attempted sexual assault of a minor
  • Second-degree attempted prostitution with a minor
  • Third-degree attempted sending obscene material to a minor
  • Two counts of third-degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child
  • Two counts of engaging in prostitution, a disorderly persons offense

He was taken to the Camden County Correctional Facility pending a detention hearing. No hearing date has been announced.

Suspended after 20 years

Pagnoni had served on the Atlantic City Beach Patrol for 20 years and was suspended following his arrest, according to Cherry Hill Patch.

The Camden County Prosecutor's Office said Pagnoni was arrested and charged with attempting to meet an underage girl for sexual activity.

Pattern of cases

The arrest is the latest in a string of child exploitation cases prosecuted by the Camden County Prosecutor's Office this month. On Wednesday, a Camden man was charged with soliciting nude photos from a 7-year-old on TikTok. On Wednesday, July 22, four South Jersey men were charged in a separate Brooklawn sting. And on Tuesday, July 21, two people were charged with trafficking an underage girl through Cherry Hill motels.

Anyone with information about this case or similar cases can contact the Camden County Prosecutor's Office High Tech Crimes Unit at (856) 225-8826 or submit tips online at CAMDEN.TIPS.