He Faked Military Service So He'd Babysit In Point Pleasant: Cops

A 22-year-old man has been charged in Point Pleasant Boro with faking military service so he could care for chldren, police announced Monday.

Lance Bennette of Brick was charged this past week with forgery, identity theft, stolen valor and tampering with public records, police said.

The charges came on Friday as a result of a criminal investigation stemming from a complaint from a Point Pleasant resident, police said.

Bennette used forged and fictitious documents that purported to be authorized by US military officials, police said.

Bennette solicited himself as somebody who could perform child care for local residents, and these documents were allegedly distributed to a few Point Pleasant residents as a way of building up his portfolio, police said.

The documents indicated that Bennette was currently in the military and was required to complete family care hours as a requirement of his service, police said.

Bennette allegedly used these fraudulent documents to "instill trust" with local parents so that he could be considered in caring for their children.

Bennette was lodged in the Ocean County Correctional Facility on a complaint warrant pending a detention hearing, police said.

Ocean County jail photo