FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Caitlin Mota
PHONE: (201) 577-6699
EMAIL: cmota@hcpo.org
DATE: Friday, December 16, 2022

NUTLEY VOLUNTEER FIRE CHIEF CHARGED WITH LURING

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

On Friday, December 16, 2022, members of the North Bergen Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, and the Nutley Police Department arrested a Nutley Volunteer Fire Chief after being notified of a luring incident.

Henry Meola, 33, of Nutley, is charged with one count of Luring in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:13-6a, a crime of the second degree, and Attempted Endangering the Welfare of a Child in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1 and 2C:24-4a(1), a crime of the third degree. He was arrested at his home in Nutley, transported to the North Bergen Police Department, and is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending his first court appearance.

The investigation determined Meola arranged to meet an individual, who he believed to be a minor, for sexual activity in North Bergen. Prosecutor Suarez credited the North Bergen Police Department, the HCPO Special Victims Unit, and the Nutley Police Department with the investigation and arrest. Anyone wishing to report a sex crime should call the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit (SVU) at 201-915-1234. The above charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).