Hazlet Scout Leader Charged With Lewd Texts Is Former Boy Scout

HAZLET, NJ — The Monmouth County chapter of the Boys Scouts of America cleared up some details Monday on the shocking arrest of a local Boy Scout leader, who was charged Friday with sending lewd text messages to a young boy:

Joseph Palermo, 25, is a volunteer Assistant Scoutmaster with Boy Scout Troop #137, based in Hazlet. On Friday, he was arrested by detectives with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and Middletown police. He was charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

Palermo lives in Hazlet and is himself a former Boy Scout. Past Patch reporting: Middletown Scout Master Charged With Sending Lewd Texts To Boy

"It was the Boy Scouts who first learned of these allegations and we were the ones who first reported them to the authorities over a month ago," said Will Montanaro, a spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America Monmouth Council.

Montanaro said that although Palermo does not have children, it is not unusual for former Boy Scouts to want to volunteer their time with a troop, and that's what Palermo did with Troop #137. Like all Boy Scout volunteers, Palermo underwent a criminal background check and nothing suspicious popped up when that was done, he said.

Boy Scouts are open to boys ages 11 to 17. The Cub Scouts are for boys under than ages 11.

After reporting Palermo to the police, Montanaro also said he was put on the national Boy Scouts' "do not volunteer" list about two weeks ago. If he is found innocent of the charges, he can apply to be reinstated.

"It's an unfortunate situation, but we're glad this has been stopped," he said. "We took the proper steps to make sure he'll no longer be involved in Scouting, not in Monmouth County and not nationally."

Montanaro said he was not sure why Middletown Police assisted the county prosecutor's office with the investigation.

Palermo is pictured above in a photo provided by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.