A former Ocean City Police Department sergeant was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison for endangering the welfare of a child by sexual conduct, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland announced.
Tyrone Rolls, 52, of Marmora, was initially charged on April 7, 2021, and then indicted on Nov. 16, 2021.
The arrest was a result of an investigation conducted by detectives from the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, after it was reported Rolls had a sexual relationship with a female juvenile victim, according to a news release.
On March 2, Rolls pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child by sexual conduct. Superior Court Judge Bernard E. DeLury sentenced Rolls.
Upon release from prison, Rolls will have to register as a Megan’s Law sex offender and be under parole supervision for life. He also must forfeit public employment and have no contact with the now-adult victim and her family.
Rolls, who was known as a coach and mentor in the community, began working for the Ocean City Police Department in 1996.
In 2020, Rolls was instrumental in keeping marchers calm during a Black Lives Matter protest in Ocean City following the national outcry over the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis during an arrest.
Rolls’ relationship with the girl began in 2016 before the start of her sophomore year at Ocean City High School, the Prosecutor’s Office previously disclosed in an affidavit of probable cause.
The sexual encounters allegedly occurred at Rolls’ home and in his patrol vehicle and began when the girl was 15. The victim came forward in 2021 and provided a statement to police about the sexual abuse, authorities said.
Sutherland credited the work of the detectives involved in the investigation and Senior Assistant Prosecutor Bryna Batten who prosecuted this case.
