By Jennifer Peacock
NEW BRUNSWICK – A Jackson man pled guilty to additional criminal charges related to sexual abuse.
Christopher Tarver, 46, was the former Dunellen Recreation director and ex-Middlesex County men’s basketball coach.
A jury found him guilty the past November in a sex assault trial of 20 counts: eight counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of engaging in a pattern of official misconduct, one count of sexual assault, five counts of criminal sexual contact, four counts of official misconduct, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child in by possessing child pornography.
He pled guilty this past week to the remaining charges of the indictment related to two additional victims.
He’s facing 50 years in prison for his November 2017 conviction. Under his open plea deal, which can be squashed at the judge’s discretion, he may face another 25 years concurrent to original sentence.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said an investigation was open after one of Tarver’s victims, now an adult, alerted authorities. Tarver coached and was executive director of Monmouth Power Sports Club since 1995, the victim a member of its travelling basketball team.
Tarver worked as Dunellen Recreation director for 10 years, and was suspended after his arrest in 2014.
He was basketball coach of the Middlesex County College in October 2006. He became head basketball coach in 2010.
His sentencing is scheduled for May 4 by Superior Court Judge Colleen Flynn in New Brunswick.
