Michigan Border Patrol agent charged in New Jersey with child endangerment, other offenses in online chat case
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (Morris County) — A Michigan man employed as a U.S. Border Patrol agent has been charged in Morris County with multiple child exploitation offenses following an undercover investigation led by the county’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, authorities announced Friday.
Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll and Chief of Detectives Robert McNally said Harry Marvelle Peless, III, 51, of Newport, Michigan, was charged after allegedly engaging in sexually explicit online conversations with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 13-year-old girl in New Jersey.
The investigation began in September 2024 and culminated in charges filed on July 25. Authorities say Peless sent explicit videos of himself and child sexual abuse material to the agent, believing he was communicating with a minor.
Peless, a Border Patrol agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, has been charged in New Jersey with one count of second-degree attempted sexual assault, one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child for distribution of child sexual abuse material, one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child through sexual conduct, one count of third-degree obscenity, and one count of fourth-degree attempted criminal sexual contact.
In addition to the New Jersey charges, Peless has also been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan with attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor.
The investigation was conducted by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office ICAC Task Force within the Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit, with support from the FBI and federal prosecutors in Michigan.
