TRENTON — A Toms River man was sentenced to six years in federal prison for traveling overseas to engage in sexual activity with a minor, federal prosecutors announced.
Jacob Bauer, 29, received a 72-month sentence from U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in Trenton federal court after admitting he traveled from the United States to Norway to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a 14-year-old girl. Bauer pleaded guilty on September 9, 2025, to a single count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.
According to court records, Bauer traveled to Norway between December 1, 2023, and December 10, 2023, where he met the victim in a hotel. After returning to the United States, prosecutors said Bauer continued communicating with the minor and boasted to others about the abuse, while acknowledging her age. His conduct later became public after members of an online community shared his personal information online.
In addition to the prison term, Kirsch imposed 10 years of supervised release and ordered forfeiture of property used to commit the offense. Bauer will also be required to register as a sex offender under federal law.
The investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies in the United States and Europe, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and international partners in Norway and Poland. Prosecutors said the case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation.
The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Trenton.
