COURT HOUSE – A former Ocean City lifeguard and former teacher in the Pleasantville School District has been sentenced to four years’ probation after pleading guilty to endangering the welfare of a child.
Jonathan C. Howell, 42, of Marmora, was arrested June 2, 2022, at his residence in the 200 block of Regal Drive and indicted on Jan. 21, 2023, for first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, second-degree official misconduct and two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Howell eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and was sentenced June 18 by Superior Court Judge Christopher Gibson. Howell, who is no longer a teacher, was also forced to forfeit any future public employment.
He was charged with sexual assault after his misconduct with minors was described in social media posts in April 2021 by several Ocean City Beach Patrol members. Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland said in a press release that the sentence was the result of an investigation that began as a result of the social media posts.
Sutherland commended the work of Senior Assistant Prosecutor Bryna Batten on the case and urged citizens to report information regarding any criminal activity, which can be done anonymously through the Cape May County sheriff’s tip line at cmcsheriff.net (click on anonymous tip), through the Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-889-3597 or to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135.
