Local Man Sentenced in Sex Abuse Case

A Millburn resident will serve nearly a year in jail after pleading guilty in a case in which he was accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl.

Mark W. Olsen, 41, pleaded guilty on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and will serve 364 days in jail, according to Katherine Carter, Essex County prosecutor's office spokeswoman. He was sentenced on Feb. 2 after pleading guilty last fall.

He also will have to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law, she said, and will be under lifetime parole upon leaving jail.

Olsen was arrested in August and originally was charged with one count of witness tampering, four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and three counts of criminal sexual contact.

The prosecutor's office said in the original press release the abuse started in 2010 when the girl was 14 years old. The hometown of the girl was not disclosed. The prosecutor's office said in a press release Olsen is self-employed and married with children of his own.

He is accused of touching the 15-year-old girl and kissing her at his home and other locations. The girl was an acquaintance of the family, the prosecutor's office said in the original release.