Ex-Manalapan BOE Member Admits Molesting Teen Boy, 19

MANALAPAN, NJ — A former Manalapan Board of Education member admitted in Monmouth County Superior Court on Tuesday that he molested a 19-year-old teenage boy, the son of family friends, according to a spokesman for the Monmouth County prosecutor's office.

Joseph Tringali, 47, of Stratford Drive in Manalapan, was arrested four days after the incident, which occurred on Sunday, Sept. 1 of the 2019 Labor Day weekend, according to the initial Patch report on his arrest.

Tringali was taken into custody after what Monmouth County prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni called an "intensive" investigation by the Manalapan police department.

According to the criminal complaint, the teen boy told police that Tringali attempted to perform oral sex on him while he was sleeping. Tringali was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault.

In court on Tuesday, Tringali admitted he "touched" the boy's penis while the teen was sleeping at his house, and "admitted he performed the act for sexual gratification," according to the Asbury Park Press.

Tringali was initially facing up to 20 years in prison for the charge, but the terms of the plea deal he reached allow him to avoid all prison time. He must register as a sex offender and will be subject to parole supervision for life (meaning he must check in with a parole officer.) He was also ordered to have no future contact with the victim.

When the assault occurred, Tringali was a pillar of the Manalapan community: He served as vice president of the school board since 2017, and was also vice president and chaplain at the local Manalapan-Englishtown Volunteer First Aid Squad. He has since resigned from both positions.

Tringali is a family friend of the teenage boys' parents.

Police said two additional witnesses put Tringali in the same room as the victim when the assault occurred on Sept. 1. Police said they also have text messages the teen boy sent to others immediately after, telling them it happened.

Initial Patch report: Manalapan BOE Member Gave Oral Sex To Sleeping Teen, Cops Say (Sept. 13, 2019)