Ocean Township Man Accused of Luring, Endangering

Authorities seek additional victims

Barton Cross-Tierney II, 29, of Franklin Ave in Ocean Township, who also goes by Barton Cross, was arrested at his home by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office on June 6, 2019 and charged with Luring, Endangering the Welfare of a Child and Promoting Obscenity to a Child, according to an announcement by Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni.

Throughout 2018, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office received multiple Cybertips regarding a participant of Discord, an online chat platform that allows for text exchanges, voice communications and video chats, engaging in inappropriate conversations with underage girls. In December 2018, a juvenile female contacted the FBI tipline and reported that she had engaged in an inappropriate online relationship with an adult male from Ocean, NJ, with the Discord username “Barton Cross.” An investigation revealed that Barton Cross committed sexual acts while in a video chat with the juvenile victim.

A subsequent investigation conducted by members of 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, NJ.

Anyone with additional information about this case is asked to contact Detective Tiffany Lenart of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 1-800-533-7443, or the FBI in Newark at 973-792-3000.