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Luring suspect has ‘friended’ underage Bergen girls, school officials warn

CLIFFVIEW PILOT EXCLUSIVE: Several girls have accepted Facebook friend requests from an Upper Saddle River man accused of trying to lure young girls into his car, school officials warn.

Photo Credit: Bergen County Prosecutor

Shahan Achian (MUGSHOT: Bergen County Prosecutor)

Among those friended by Shahan Achian, who is free on $200,000 bail, are students at Immaculate Heart Academy in Washington Township.

Achian was arrested by detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office a week ago following a manhunt for the driver who approached several young girls and offered them money for sex.

He was driving two different cars in the incidents, one of them a 2008 black Cadillac Escalade with tinted windows.

As it turned out, the
luxury SUV and Achian matched descriptions given by girls who were approached.

All are under 16, including one who is 11, police records show.

The 26-year-old Armenian — who sometimes refers to himself as “Shahan Situation” — is single, unemployed and lives with his 72-year-old father.


SEE: Man charged with luring young girls in several Bergen towns

A
uthorities have asked that any other girls who may have been approached — either on the street or through Facebook — tell their parents, who are urged to contact their local police department or the county prosecutor’s office immediately (201.646.2300).


Local police already were having discussions with sex crimes detectives from the prosecutor’s office and getting the word out to the public. They encouraged parents to use the scary incidents as teaching moments, to tell their children to run from trouble and to take notice of particular details.

Then came a big break: As it turned out, Montvale police gave Achian a ticket for having tinted windows on the Escalade the same day as the first reported incident, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said. Detectives investigating the various incidents checked area motor vehicle stops and found a match.

Then they dug a little deeper.


ALSO SEE: Neighborhood where underage girls lured familiar to suspect



Here is a portion of an email that went out this afternoon to the parents of students at Immacuate Heart Academy:

Dear Parents,

As you may be aware, authorities arrested an Upper Saddle River man who they said tried to lure a dozen underage girls into his car on numerous occasions over last two months….

It has come to our attention that several IHA students accepted his friend request on Face Book [Facebook]. Please take some time to discuss this important matter with your daughter and to encourage her to only accept friend requests from people she knows. Please check to see if your daughter has accepted this individual’s friend request.

I have  placed a useful resource for parents and guardians concerning Internet safety on the parent portal on the school website.

We continue to educate our students on Internet safety at Immaculate Heart Academy.

On January 10th, we will have a presentation by Cyber Crime Investigators from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.  During the presentation, the investigators will briefly address sexual predators online and then focus on social networking, sexting, cyberbullying, and responsible use of the Internet by teenagers.

By providing on-going guidance and discussion, parents and teachers can increases students’ online skills  along with their ability to avoid the potential dangers of cyberspace.

Sincerely,
Lisa Encke

Lisa D. Encke
Assistant Principal – Students
Immaculate Heart Academy
500 Van Emburgh Ave.
Washington Township, New Jersey 07676
(201) 445-6800 x114





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