Ex-Middletown Police Officer Admits To Illegal Relationship With Teenage Girl, State Seeks 4 Years In Prison

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A former Middletown Police officer on Monday pleaded guilty to third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, related to a romantic relationship he had with a 17-year-old girl when he was 24 years old.

Justin Skelly is the son of Middletown's Fire Official Bud Skelly.

The state will ask that he serve four years in state prison, said a spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor. His sentencing is tentatively scheduled for July 17.

However, the terms of his plea agreement state that Skelly's lawyer can ask the judge for non-custodial probation, which means no prison time, his defense attorney, Mitchell Ansell, said Thursday.

That will be determined at the sentencing on July 17.

"He had an unblemished record as a police officer and until this, had never been charged with a crime before," said Ansell. "So for those reasons we are confident that he will receive probation as his sentence, when the judge hears all the facts. However, at the end of the day, it's the judge's decision."

Skelly, 25 at the time of his arrest, was arrested in January 2025 and charged with second-degree sex assault of a victim by a supervisor, and third-degree child endangerment.

He pleaded guilty to a reduced crime of third-degree child endangerment.

Immediately after he was arrested last year, Skelly was suspended without pay from the Middletown Police Department. He will be terminated from the Middletown Police force.

According to the affidavit, which the prosecutor's office released to the media when he was first arrested, Skelly had numerous interactions with the 17-year-old girl between August and December 2024. Ansell said their relationship started when the teen girl was 17.

The prosecutor says Skelly met the girl numerous times between those months and provided her with alcohol. He knew where the teen would hang out with her friends, and he frequented those areas in his patrol car and while he was on duty, according to the affidavit.

"The investigation revealed that on diverse dates between Aug. 12, 2024 and Dec. 7, 2024, Middletown Police Officer Justin Skelly provided a 17-year-old female with alcohol and engaged in sexual intercourse with her," read the affidavit. "During this same time frame, Officer Skelly would often frequent areas where the victim was known to congregate with friends, while he was on duty and would communicate with the victim while on duty and from his police vehicle."

In New Jersey, the age that a teen can consent to a sexual relationship with a legal adult (defined as older than 18) is 16.

But once he became a police officer, everything changed.

Like many states, it is illegal in New Jersey for teachers and police officers to have sexual relationships with minors. Skelly was criminally charged with breaking a law because the prosecutor argued he was in a supervisory role over the teen girl as a police officer. In those cases, the age of consent is raised to 18. Their relationship became viewed as official misconduct.

Skelly was indicted on the initial two crimes he was first arrested for. However, he was also indicted for three additional crimes: Computer criminal activity, official misconduct and stalking. Prosecutors say he accessed the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) law enforcement databases for unofficial use.

Skelly lives in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown.

Initial report when he was arrested: Middletown Police Officer Charged With Sex Assault Of Teen (January 2025)