Crime & Safety

Bail Lowered for Man Charged in Deptford Human Trafficking Case

Robert Murray's bail was lowered from $300,000 to $200,000.

The bail for a human trafficking suspect from Voorhees has been lowered by $100,000, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday afternoon.

Robert Murray, 40, was charged with first-degree human trafficking, third-degree promoting prostitution and fourth-degree assault after a South Carolina woman reported she was held against her will in a Deptford hotel room for a week.

Murray was arrested on Tuesday and held in default of $300,000 bail.

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On Friday, his bail was reduced to $200,000 after his lawyer argued Murray was married for 15 years, has an 11-year-old daughter and plays a “crucial” role in his wife’s employment.

Murray verified he’s lived at the same address for 28 years.

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“He takes his daughter to and from school and his wife to and from work,” said defense attorney Robert Wolf, adding that Murray’s wife has no driver’s license.

Wolf also noted Murray has no prior adult criminal record, is self-employed and earns $40,000 a year. Murray coaches in the Voorhees Little League baseball program.

Assistant Gloucester County Prosecutor Dana Anton cited the “serious nature of the offense” as a reason for high bail.

Superior Court Judge Walter L. Marshall Jr. said the $300,000 bail was on the high end of the range for those offenses. In reducing bail to $200,000, the judge ordered Murray to have no contact with his accuser.

The South Carolina woman claims she came to New Jersey with other women from North Carolina before being “sold” to a man she could only identify as “Lotto.”

“Lotto” allegedly kept her against her will at a hotel in Deptford for a week and forced to perform sexual acts for money with numerous males every day.

Wolf said he’s obtained certain facts he claims contradict the allegations.


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