Long Valley Man Charged with Luring After Prosecutors Say the '15-Year-Old' He Went to Meet in Freehold Was a Detective

He drove to Freehold expecting to meet a 15-year-old girl, prosecutors say. The person waiting on the other end of those messages was an undercover detective, and when he got there, he hit the gas.

Jeffrey Lanci, 50, of the Long Valley section of Washington Township in Morris County, is charged with second-degree luring, second-degree eluding, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree attempted criminal sexual contact, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Friday.

Detectives with the prosecutor's High Tech Bureau say Lanci first reached out to the undercover detective on social media, then sent sexually charged texts and set up a meeting in Freehold last month.

The scare didn't end with the sting. Prosecutors say Lanci showed up at the agreed time and place, then fled, driving over grass and onto a local highway and nearly causing several crashes. Police called off the chase because of the danger to other drivers, the prosecutor's office said.

He didn't stay gone long. Lanci was taken into custody at his home later that same day without incident, according to the prosecutor's office.

He remains in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution after Superior Court Judge Vincent N. Falcetano Jr. granted the state's motion to keep him detained while the case moves forward. Assistant Prosecutor William Visone is handling the case, and Lanci is represented by attorney Thomas Huth.

Investigators want to hear from anyone with information about Lanci's activities. Call Detective Anthony Lacher at 732-431-7160, ext. 8570. The charges are accusations, and Lanci is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court.

Source: Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

Photo: Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office