A former Ocean City lifeguard named repeatedly in sexual misconduct allegations was sentenced to probation after being indicted in the 2017 rape of a then-16-year-old rookie.
Jonathan C. Howell, now 42, was a teacher in Pleasantville, when he was arrested June 2, 2022.
He was 36 years old in 2017, when he allegedly got the girl drunk and then sexually assaulted her.
Howell pleaded guilty to second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and sentenced to four years probation.
Under the agreement, he must forfeit any future public employment.
Because he did not plead to a sex crime, he does not have to register as a Megan's Law offender.
The plea agreement indicates no Megan's Law requirements and that the second-degree charge would be sentenced as a third-degree crime, allowing for probation.The initial charges alleged Howell brought the girl and another teen to an unnamed witness's apartment, where they all consumed alcohol, according to the affidavit of probable cause previously reported by BreakingAC.
The girl told detectives she "woke up to the room spinning and Howell standing in between her legs removing a condom, saying, 'You're amazing,' " the affidavit states.
The girl was wearing only her shirt, with her panties at her ankles, she told investigators.
The Prosecutor's Office conducted “a thorough investigation into these allegations and this sentence was as a result of this investigation,” Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland said Thursday in the news release.
Howell also pleaded to a charge of harassment for a nude photo found of a former girlfriend when the two were in high school.
The woman told police that she was underage when Howell took nude photographs of her while dating, and that he would sent the photo to her on her birthday every year until 2015. The photo was found during a warranted search of Howell's Marmora home June 2, 2022, the affidavit states.
Howell is not to have contact with either victim.
Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian brought on Allan Karas, a retired supervisory special agent with the DEA in 2021, as part of the restructuring of the beach patrol.
Since then, Karas has done a top to bottom reorganization of the beach patrol, establishing new policies and procedures for everything from personnel to lifeguarding.
Doug Bergen, Ocean City’s spokesman, said Gillian would not comment on the sentencing or the restructuring of the beach patrol.
Sutherland said in the release that his office “will continue to work hand in hand with the local municipalities to aggressively investigate and prosecute violent crimes within the county.”
Senior Assistant Prosecutor Bryna Batten prosecuted this case.
To anonymously report information regarding any criminal activity within the Cape May County community contact the Cape May County Sheriff's Tip Line at cmcsheriff.net and click on anonymous tip or through the Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-889-3597, or the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135.
