Manalapan Man Attempted To Solicit Sex From Minor: Prosecutor

MANALAPAN, NJ - A 65-year-old middle school teacher from Manalapan was charged this week with attempting to solicit sex from a minor, authorities said.

Jesse Rosenbaum, a science teacher at Long Branch Middle School, was charged with one count of third-degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child, according to Mercer County Prosecutor Agenlo J. Onofri.

Rosenbaum was taken into custody by detectives with the prosecutor’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit and Special Victims Unit (SVU), Onofri said in a statement. He was the subject of an ICAC investigation into the sexual exploitation of children online, with prosecutors alleging that Rosenbaum engaged in “sexually explicit emails, text messages and phone conversations” with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old male.

If convicted, the third-degree charge carries a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Rosenbaum is being held in the Mercer County Correction Center pending a detention hearing.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the investigation may contact Sgt. Joe Paglione of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at (609)
273-0065.