Christopher Battin
Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of 34-year-old CHRISTOPHER BATTIN of Milwaukee, WI, on the charges of aggravated sexual extortion of a child, child endangerment, lewdness, and stalking. The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck.
On Friday, March 7, 2025, the North Arlington Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit regarding a child under the age of 13 who was being contacted online by a stranger. Detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit and the North Arlington Police Department initiated an investigation and quickly suspected that the online stranger may be an adult who was sexually extorting the child.
During the course of the months-long investigation that followed, detectives determined that the online stranger engaged the child in sexually explicit conversations; sent sexually explicit photos of himself to the child; requested the child send him sexually explicit photos; and made threats to expose the child’s online activity and photos while repeatedly contacting the child from different phone numbers. Ultimately, detectives from the Cyber Crimes Unit identified the online stranger as CHRISTOPHER BATTIN.
As a result of the investigation, on Thursday, June 26, 2025, a warrant was issued for the arrest of CHRISTOPHER BATTIN, charging him with second-degree aggravated sexual extortion against a child under the age of 13, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-9.1c(3); third-degree child endangerment, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(1); fourth-degree lewdness, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-4b(1); and fourth-degree stalking, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-10(b).
On Tuesday, July 22, 2025, with the assistance of the United States Marshals Service, CHRISTOPHER BATTIN was located and arrested in Milwaukee, WI. BATTIN was taken into custody by deputy United States Marshals and remanded to the Milwaukee (WI) County Jail, pending extradition to Bergen County, NJ.
Prosecutor Mark Musella states that the charges are merely accusations, and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutor Musella thanks the North Arlington Police Department for their assistance in this investigation. Additionally, he thanks and recognizes the cooperation and assistance of the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force – Newark Division of the United States Marshals Service; United States Marshals Service – Eastern Wisconsin Violent Offender Task Force; the Milwaukee (WI) Police Department; and the Milwaukee County (WI) Sheriff’s Office for their individual and collective assistance with the apprehension of the defendant.
