To Catch a Predator · Ocean County investigation
Howard Thornton III
Howard Thornton III was arrested during the Ocean County, New Jersey investigation. He pleaded guilty to attempted child-luring and received three years in prison with lifetime supervision and registration.
Photo: To Catch a Predator Wiki
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Evidence
- Attributed reporting
- Jurisdiction
- Ocean County, New Jersey
- Encounter
- Not established
- Decoy posed as
- Girl3
- Case number
- Not established
Personal details
- Born
- August 3, 1979
- Occupation
- Warehouse manager
- Eyes
- Hazel
Charges & sentence
Case records
Ocean County Superior CourtHansen investigation · Sentenced
- Court
- Ocean County Superior Court
Reviewed sting-related legal outcome. Prosecution request for five years and defense request for probation were proposals, not orders. Saved original arrest report visually reviewed, not a judgment; unrelated later warrants excluded.
Case narrative
Aftermath
Not much is known of Thornton's activities post-Dateline & incarceration. Thornton eventually moved back to his birth state of New Jersey, where he was arrested in Essex County on November 11, 2016 for non-payment of child support in the realm of ~$25k, he was released 3 days later. As of August 2026, multiple warrants have been issued for his arrest, including an active one out of Hoboken, all resulting from unpaid public transit fare.
Community-written, from the To Catch a Predator Wiki. Not independently verified, and it does not establish charges or court outcomes.
Howard Thornton III, To Catch a Predator Wiki contributors; see revision and history links. · CC-BY-SA
Sources
- 1Man gets3years after televised sex stingReport identifies Howard Thornton and the Ocean County sting, and reports a three-year prison sentence for attempted luring.
- 2HowardThorntonIII arrest reportMarch 31, 2007 arrest report names Howard Thornton III and lists attempted sexual assault and luring allegations. Prosecutor reference 070300301 is not treated as a court docket number.
- 3Howard Thornton III (community wiki)Attributed community article. Revision date describes the article update, not a court or sting event. Full infobox, narrative sections, references and assets are retained in the private archive.
- 4Howard Thornton III: occupation informationThe profile infobox lists these occupations. Undated roles do not establish current employment.
- 5Howard Thornton III: legal outcome (revision 16157)3 years in prison; lifetime parole supervision and registration.