Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County man has been charged with enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual conduct, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced.
Ryan Niksa, 34, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was charged in a one-count complaint with enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. He had an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court on January 29, 2025, and was ordered detained.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Since in or around August 2024, Niksa communicated with a minor victim located in another state through social media applications and text messages. Niksa and the minor victim exchanged sexually explicit photos and videos. Niksa expressed his desire to live with the minor victim, discussed traveling to the minor victim’s home state to be with her, and discussed running away with the minor victim to another country where they could evade law enforcement.
Enticement of a minor carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine.
Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly in Newark, the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Director James Shea, and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Thompson of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
25-027 ###
Defense counsel: Shaiba Rather, Assistant Federal Public Defender