Ex-Ocean City Sergeant Sentenced For Sexually Abusing Teen For 5 Years

OCEAN CITY, NJ — A former Ocean City police sergeant was sentenced to five years in New Jersey State Prison for the sexual abuse of a teenage girl over five years, the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office said.

Tyrone Rolls, 52, was once a well-respected officer and youth sports coach, with numerous accolades on display in the Ocean City Historical Museum, according to a 2019 Ocean City Police Department Instagram post.

Now, the Marmora resident will have to register as a sexual offender under Megan's Law, undergo parole supervision for life, forfeit any future public employment and have no contact with the now adult victim and her family, Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland said.

Rolls was initially charged on April 7, 2021 and indicted on Nov. 16, 2021, Sutherland said. He pleaded guilty on March 2, 2023.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, that the assaults began in 2016 before the start of the victim's sophomore year at Ocean City High School and continued for five years. She was 20 at the time of his initial charges.

The complaint alleged that the assaults occurred at Rolls' home and in his patrol vehicle while he was both on- and off-duty, and that Rolls hit the victim with an open hand and knocked her to the ground during a fight the two reportedly had at the beginning of the year.

According to the complaint, she reported staying down on the ground for fear he would hit her again. Rolls allegedly said to her, "Now you know what it is like to be hit."

The victim said she had suffered concussions in the past and believed their reported fight caused another one, the complaint alleges.

Rolls had been employed by the Ocean City Police Department since 1996. State pension records show his annual salary as an Ocean City officer was $129,364.

This article contains additional reporting by Kimberlee Bongard.