A former New Jersey police captain pleaded guilty yesterday to sexually exploiting a minor girl, promising to purchase her clothing in exchange for performing explicit acts via webcam.

Michael Grennier, 51, was arrested in February after investigators alleged he had paid the unnamed girl, whose age has not been released, to perform sexual acts for him on the Internet while he watched remotely, directing her via text message on at least one occasion. According to a complaint [pdf] filed in New Jersey Federal Court, Grenier also paid the underage victim for naked photos, and paid her and another minor girl $500 to perform sex acts with each other and with him in a New Jersey hotel room; he allegedly taped these encounters as well. Grennier admitted in court yesterday that he offered to purchase the first victim $175 worth of clothing from an online store in exchange for sexual acts; according to the complaint, the abuse had been ongoing for "several years."

Grennier was a 25-year veteran of the force, a former police captain for South Plainfield, NJ and was a "member of a well-known family," according to the Star Ledger; he was awarded "Officer of the Year" twice. Grennier was known as something of a computer whiz among his peers, and was employed at a private computer forensics firm at the time of his arrest, after retiring from the force earlier. He faces 15 to 30 years in prison, and will be sentenced in February.