Crime, Regional Interest

Prosecutor: Area Man Pleads Guilty to Exhibiting Obscenity to a Minor, Endangerment

An Ocean Township man has pleaded guilty for his role in a 2019 luring and endangerment case, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced.

Barton Cross-Tierney II, 31, of Ocean Township, pleaded guilty on Monday to third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree exhibiting obscenity to a minor.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Cross-Tierney faces up to five years in New Jersey state prison, mandatory Megan’s Law registration and parole supervision for life.

The case background …

Throughout 2018, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office received multiple cyber tips regarding a user on Discord (an online chat platform that allows for text exchanges, voice communications and video chats) engaging in inappropriate conversations with underage girls. 

In December of 2018, a juvenile female contacted the FBI tip line and reported that she had engaged in an inappropriate online relationship with an adult male from Ocean with the Discord username Barton Cross. 

An investigation revealed that Barton Cross committed sexual acts while in a video chat with the juvenile victim. Further investigation revealed that Barton Cross was in communication with another juvenile victim on Discord. He also engaged in sexual acts while in a video chat with that juvenile victim.

A subsequent investigation conducted by members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit, the Ocean Township Police department, members of the ICAC Task Force, and the FBI determined “Barton Cross” to be Barton C. Cross-Tierney, of Franklin Parkway in Ocean Township. 

Sentencing is scheduled for May 13, 2022.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office

Investment Process