Camden County teacher charged with trying to meet 14-year-old for sex

WINSLOW — A Camden County elementary school teacher has been charged with trying to meet up with a 14-year-old girl for sex.

Jonathan Liano, 38, of the Sicklerville section, was arrested Friday when he showed up in Pennsauken about 4:30 p.m., where cops were there to greet him.

Prosecutors said Liano thought he was going to meet up with the girl, who actually was a fake persona created by an undercover detective with the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit. Investigators said Liano traded sexually explicit messages with the person who Liano thought was underage.

Liano is at least the second government employee this month to be charged with luring after an undercover sting.

Last week, a Howell police officer was arrested and charged with trying to meet up with a 15-year-old girl, who also was a fake persona.

Liano is a fifth-grade teacher at Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School in Berlin Township. Public records show he has nearly 15 years of service in public schools in the state.

He was charged with second-degree luring, sending obscene material to a minor, attempted criminal sexual contact and attempted sexual assault of a minor.

He was being held Saturday at the Camden County jail awaiting a hearing before a judge. The Townsquare News Network did not know Saturday whether Liano had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.