Keyport Man Sentenced to 34 Years in Prison for Sexually Assaulting a Child

A Keyport man was sentenced to serve 34 years in state prison today by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Francis Vernoia, according to Acting Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni.

The sentence requires that Shane Simpson, 24, serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

On April 5, a Monmouth County jury convicted Simpson on one count of first degree aggravated sexual assault, three counts of second degree sexual assault, one count of second degree endangering the welfare of the a child by sexual conduct, one count of second degree endangering the welfare of a child by causing a child to engage in child pornography, and one count of fourth degree endangering the welfare of a child by possession of child pornography., according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Lisa Thornton presided over the three-week trial.

Over the course of the trial, evidence revealed that in April 2010, the victim, an adolescent girl, was sexually abused on three occasions by Simpson while he was babysitting her, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. During one of the assaults, Simpson took pictures of the girl, who was under 10-years-old, using his cell phone camera, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

After the assaults came to light, a cooperative investigation between the Keyport Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit was launched. Simpson's cell phone was seized, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, and was examined with the assistance of the Prosecutor's Office Computer Crimes Unit.

A number of images of the victim were recovered from the cell phone, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, along with other images of child pornography that had been downloaded from the internet. There was no evidence that Simpson distributed any of these images to others.

Simpson was committed to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution following his arrest in April 2010 and has remained in custody since that time, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

Acting Prosecutor Gramiccioni praised the bravery of the victim, who was still less than 10 years-old at the time of her testimony, and thanked the cooperation of the many law enforcement officers involved in the investigation for their assistance in this matter, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

The prosecution of this case was assigned to Assistant Prosecutor William A. Somers.

Simpson was represented by Lisa Maglone, Esquire, of Freehold, New Jersey.