Franklin Township, N.J. Youth Minister Accused of Molesting 2 Girls

CBS New York
April 9, 2015

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/04/08/franklin-township-n-j-youth-minister-accused-of-molesting-2-girls/

Franklin Township, New Jersey youth minister Shawn Butler is accused of molesting two teenage girls. (Credit: Alex Zdan/NJ Times)

A Franklin Township, New Jersey youth minister has been charged with sexually assaulting and molesting two teenage girls, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Shawn Butler, 48, of Hillsborough, New Jersey, was arrested at a relative’s home in Millsboro, Delaware on Friday of last week, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s office.

Butler was charged with one count of sexual assault, and two counts each of criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child.

Prosecutors and South Brunswick police alleged that Butler sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl in North Brunswick between July 2012 and August 2013.

Detectives also alleged that Butler improperly touched a 15-year-old girl in South Brunswick and Hillsborough on a number of occasions between March and June 2014.

Police began investigating after the 15-year-old girl contacted South Brunswick police in July, prosecutors said.

Butler had been working as a youth minister at the Eternal Life Christian Center in the Somerset section of Franklin Township, and had served on the executive board of the church, at the time of the assaults, prosecutors said.

The investigation continued Wednesday afternoon. Anyone with information was asked to call Detective Mark Morris of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s office at (732) 745-4194, or South Brunswick police Detective Roger Tuohy at (732) 208-4896.