Year-long probe results in arrest of former lifeguard, a teacher in Pleasantville
OCEAN CITY — A former lifeguard has been charged with first-degree sexual assault stemming from an investigation initiated last year into multiple allegations against members and administrators on the Ocean City Beach Patrol.
On Thursday, Jonathan C. Howell, 40, a Marmora resident who works as a teacher in the Pleasantville School District, was taken into custody and hit with multiple charges, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Chief Paul Skill of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office announced.
Sutherland and Skill said Howell was taken into custody without incident by members of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and Cape May County Sheriff’s Office, and a court-authorized search warrant was executed at Howell’s residence in the 200 block of Regal Drive.
Howell was then transported to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office where he was processed and charged with aggravated sexual assault, a crime of the first degree; sexual assault, a crime of the second degree; official misconduct, a crime of the second degree; and endangering the welfare of a child, a crime of the third degree. Skill and Sutherland note charges are accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless he is proved guilty.
Howell was lodged in the Cape May County Correctional Facility pending court proceedings.
Investigations began after an Instagram site, OCBP_predators, surfaced in April 2021. The site featured what it called “the untold stories of pedophiles, predators, and inappropriate behavior on the beaches of America’s Greatest Family Resort.”
Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian asked for an investigation and Sutherland said once notified it “conducted a thorough investigation into these allegations and these charges and the execution of this search warrant are the result of this investigation.”
Sutherland said the investigation is ongoing.
In April 2022, the Sentinel reported the Prosecutor’s Office did not have a public update on the investigation after publishing a story that Ocean City settled a female lifeguard’s sexual harassment lawsuit for $135,000 and was facing lawsuits from two other female lifeguards.
The allegations in the lawsuits by the three female guards were extensive — including sexual assault by much older male guards, nonconsensual sex, sexual harassment, offensive touching, being served alcohol underage at parties sanctioned by the beach patrol, being sexually groomed and having those guards expose their genitalia.
One lawsuit was filed against 10 senior guards and supervisors for their alleged behavior and against current OCBP Operations Chief Mark Jamieson and former chief Tom Mullineaux for failure to properly hire, train and supervisor lifeguards.
When the Instagram site went live, an initial post read, “OCBP has more pedophiles in power than not. These men prey on young, impressionable girls on the beach patrol and beach patrons alike. Many underage girls have been harassed by their direct supervisor and no action has been taken to stop this. Repost if you believe these men should be held responsible.”
What started with a limited number of posts swelled to more than 170 that included allegations not just against the Ocean City Beach Patrol but against other patrols in southern New Jersey as well. The number of followers quickly grew from a few hundred to thousands and now has more than 8,300.
In addition to asking the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate, the city released a statement at the time: “The city has strict sexual harassment policies and procedures in place and acts immediately on every reported complaint. Mayor Jay Gillian has directed Fire Chief Jim Smith to build on existing policies and do whatever it takes to ensure employees feel safe coming forward.”
Sutherland stated the investigation is ongoing and urges anyone who has information relating to this investigation to contact the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at (609) 465-1135, or anonymously through the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Anonymous TIP System by visiting cmcpo.tips from any computer, tablet, or smart phone. Information can also be reported to the Cape May County Sheriff’s Tip Line at cmcsheriff.net — click on anonymous tip, or through the Cape May County Crime Stoppers, (609) 889-3597.
He added a person convicted of a first-degree crime is subject to a state prison term of imprisonment of 10 to 20 years. Persons convicted of a second-degree crime are subject to 5 to 10 years and third-degree crimes are subject to 3 to 5 years.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff