SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — A former youth pastor has pleaded guilty to four counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Sean Higgins, 32, of Palmyra, Burlington County, served as a youth pastor and music leader at Harbor Baptist Church and a teacher at the church’s private K-12 school in Hainesport.
He admitted to posing as a teenage girl online to trick teen boys into sending him nude photos and videos via Snapchat and Instagram. Investigators said Higgins would then threaten to expose their photos if they did not do what he demanded.
Authorities said Higgins would often make the victims perform sexual acts on themselves, which he recorded.
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The crimes that Higgins pleaded guilty to, which occurred in 2020, did not involve physical contact with victims and did not involve any children at the church.
He is scheduled for sentencing on March 3. He has been in jail since his arrest in October 2020.
Higgins is expected to receive a 27-year sentence as part of the plea deal.