Cape May County Man Admits Transporting Minor Across State Lines for Sex

CAMDEN, NJ—A Cape May County, New Jersey man today admitted transporting an underage girl across state lines for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Michael Kulick, 46, of Dennis Township, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph E. Irenas to an information charging him with one count of transportation of a minor over state lines in order to engage in sexual activity.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In August 2012, Kulick and his family went on a vacation to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, accompanied by his daughter’s friend, a 15-year-old girl. Kulick engaged in sexual contact with the minor girl while staying at a hotel in Pennsylvania. Kulick admitted that after returning to New Jersey, he continued to have a sexual relationship with the minor girl for approximately two months. Kulick also admitted that at the time that he transported the minor girl to and from Pennsylvania, he knew that it was illegal in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania to commit statutory rape.

The count to which Kulick pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and restitution for the victim. He will also be required to serve at least five years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for May 13, 2014.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI Atlantic City resident agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, in Newark; the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Colonel Rick Fuentes, superintendent of the state police; and investigators with the Cape May County Prosecutor’s office, under the direction of Prosecutor Robert L. Taylor, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Vondra Carrig of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.