Aberdeen Man Admits To Sex Assault Of Girl, 13

ABERDEEN, NJ — This local Aberdeen man has been sentenced to 20 years in state prison after he was found guilty of having a sexual relationship for two years with a girl who was under 13 years old, said the Monmouth County prosecutor.

Jonathan McDermott, 38, of the Cliffwood section of Aberdeen, was sentenced Friday by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Richard English. He was found guilty of "numerous sexual attacks upon a minor during a period of approximately two years," said the county prosecutor. The victim knew McDermott before their relationship began; prosecutors say the relationship could not be consensual due to the child's age.

Aberdeen police and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Bureau started investigating McDermott in February 2018, after the girl told an adult that McDermott had committed numerous sexual acts upon her between June of 2015 and April of 2017.

The girl was less than 13 years of age during these sexual assaults, detectives said.

McDermott previously pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault, a first-degree crime, last October, before Judge English.

McDermott will have to serve the full 20-year term before he is eligible for release. When he is released from state prison, he must register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.

McDermott was represented by J. Michael Wicke, Esq. of Freehold.