15 Years For Eatontown Ex-Sheriff Officer Convicted Of Sex Crimes

EATONTOWN, NJ - An ex-Middlesex County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced last week to 15 years in prison after he was convicted of having a sexual encounter with a teen girl under the age of 18, and then uploading videos of the encounter to social media.

Joshua Padilla, 37, of Eatontown, was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison, as well as 10 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero said. In addition, he must pay $15,300 in special assessments as part of the sentencing.

Padilla pleaded guilty in December 2021 to producing, distributing and possessing child pornography, all charges that stemmed from an investigation into an illicit sexual encounter in Pennsylvania he had with a 17-year-old girl. This is while he was employed as a Middlesex County sheriff’s deputy.

Padilla recorded himself during this encounter, and later uploaded some of that video to an online social media platform.

Separately, last year Padilla pleaded guilty to seeking sex with who he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

He was also indicted last year in a third criminal case where he was accused of videotaping violent sexual assaults on multiple unconscious women over a span of three years. Read more: Ex-Middlesex Sheriff's Officer Assaulted Sleeping Women, Cops Say

“As a member of law enforcement, Padilla was trusted and sworn to protect his community. He lost that trust when he violated a minor and put children’s safety at risk,” said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who called the former sheriff's officer "a sexually violent predator."

"This sentencing is a reminder that being in a position of public trust does not put you above the law.”