Tinton Falls man admits to touching teen he worked with at Red Bank seafood restaurant
FREEHOLD – A Tinton Falls man has pleaded guilty to inappropriately touching a female minor he worked with at a seafood restaurant in Red Bank on various occasions in 2020 and 2021, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago.
Trinidad Mendez-Romero, 32, is expected to receive probation and be ordered to have no further communication with his victim or contact with anyone under the age of 18, when he is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28, the Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Cases are still pending for two other defendants — Eduardo Jimenez-Berdejo, 36, and Jesus E. Reyes-Rodriguez, 36, both of Red Bank — in the same matter, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Mendez-Romero appeared before state Superior Court Judge Chad N. Cagan on May 3. He pleaded guilty to third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and disorderly persons harassment, offensive touching. During his appearance at the Monmouth County Courthouse, he admitted that while working together, he touched the victim on her breasts in an offensive manner, according to the statement.
The case involved multiple incidents of sexual contact on multiple dates between June 2020 and February 2021 at the Boondocks Fishery in Red Bank and one other location, the statement said.
The incidents remain under investigation and anyone with additional information is asked to contact Red Bank Police Department Detective John Camarca at 732-530-2700.
The case is assigned to Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Dugan.
Mendez-Romero is represented by Ocean Township-based defense attorney Robert Honecker.
Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Tinton Falls man admits to touching teen at Red Bank restaurant
