FREEHOLD – A Morris County man faces luring and eluding charges after prosecutors say he arranged to meet someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl, then fled from officers and nearly caused several crashes.
Jeffrey Lanci, 50, of the Long Valley section of Washington Township, had been communicating with an undercover detective, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Friday.
Investigators with the prosecutor’s office’s High Tech Bureau said Lanci contacted the detective through social media and later exchanged sexually explicit text messages while believing he was communicating with a minor.
According to prosecutors, Lanci went to an agreed-upon meeting spot in Freehold last month seeking a sexual encounter. He then drove away from the scene, crossing grass before entering a local highway. Authorities said his driving nearly caused multiple collisions. Officers ended their pursuit because of the danger to other motorists.
Lanci was arrested at his home later that day without incident, prosecutors said.
He is charged with second-degree eluding, second-degree luring, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree attempted criminal sexual contact.
Lanci remains in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution pending further Superior Court proceedings. Judge Vincent N. Falcetano Jr. granted prosecutors’ request to keep him detained.
Anyone with information about Lanci’s activities is asked to contact Detective Anthony Lacher at 732-431-7160, ext. 8570.
Assistant Prosecutor William Visone is handling the case. Lanci is represented by attorney Thomas Huth.
The charges are accusations. Lanci is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
