Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey announced that a former youth minister at a church in Franklin Township was convicted today of endangering the welfare of a minor and having criminal inappropriate contact with a minor.
Officials say, Shawn Butler, 52, of Hillsborough, was found guilty by a jury on Nov. 16th, of endangering the welfare of a minor in the third degree and inappropriate criminal contact in the fourth degree.
Butler is scheduled to be sentenced on February 11, 2019, by Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Paone to a term of up to 5 years in a New Jersey state prison. As part of the sentence, Butler will be subjected to Megan’s Law and will be placed on parole supervision for life upon his release from prison.
During a trial that began on October 30th, Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Carver presented evidence and testimony that Butler improperly touched a 15-year-old female in South Brunswick, and at his home in Hillsborough on a number of occasions between March 2014 and June 2014.
Police arrested and charged Butler following an investigation by Detective Mark Morris of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and Detective Roger Tuohy of the South Brunswick Police Department.
During the investigation, it was determined that Butler had been working as a youth minister at the Eternal Life Christian Center in the Somerset section of Franklin Township and also served on the church’s executive board.