Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Robert Hubner, director of the Woodbridge Police Department, announced that a Catholic school basketball coach was arrested today on charges of repeatedly performing a sex act in the presence of a 14-year-old girl.
Darren Ventre, 40 of the Fords section of Woodbridge, was arrested and charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child.
He is being held at the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center in North Brunswick.
Ventre's bail has been set at $75,000.
Ventre volunteered as athletic director and as coach of the girls’ basketball team at St. Matthewthe Apostle Church in Edison.
He was arrested and charged during an investigation by Detective Grace Brown of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and Detective Tina Small of the Woodbridge Police Department.
During the investigation, it was determined that Ventre brought the teenage girl to his home and performed the sex act on a number of occasions over an extended period.
The investigation began after the girl told a counselor, who contacted the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency.
The investigation is active and is continuing.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Brown of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3600, or Detective Small of the Woodbridge Police Department at (732) 643-7700.
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