COURT HOUSE – A former Ocean City police sergeant was sentenced to five years in prison for an inappropriate relationship with a minor, including while on duty.
Tyrone Rolls, 52, of Marmora, appeared before Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury, July 21, and received the sentence in exchange for pleading guilty to second-degree endangering the welfare of a child by sexual conduct.
Rolls was originally charged April 7, 2021, and indicted Nov. 16, 2021, after an investigation by detectives of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit.
Rolls was convicted of charges that stemmed from his beginning a sexual relationship with a female juvenile when she was 15.
According to reports previously published in the Herald, Rolls had a relationship with the victim while off duty and on duty for several years. When the victim was 20, she went to the police Jan 21, 2021, after a physical altercation in which she claimed Rolls struck her.
Rolls, who was represented by attorneys Meghan Hoerner and James Leonard, pleaded guilty, March 2, to the second-degree charge. A second-degree crime is punishable by five to 10 years in state prison.
Rolls must also register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, remain under parole supervision for life, and forfeit public employment. He must have no contact with the now-adult victim or her family.
Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland praised the work of all the detectives in the investigation, as well as Senior Assistant Prosecutor Bryna Batten, who prosecuted the case.
