Ex-Dunellen Rec Director To Be Sentenced For Child Sex Crimes

DUNELLEN, NJ — A man who once worked as the recreation director in both Dunellen and North Plainfield will be sentenced March 9 after he was found guilty of a slew of sex crimes against a 15-year-old boy he coached on a traveling basketball team.

Christopher Tarver, 45, of Jackson Township, was also a youth basketball coach in the area, and his victim was an underage teen boy he coached on a traveling boys' basketball team affiliated with the AAU, prosecutors said.

Tarver is also formerly the basketball coach at Middlesex County Men’s College. He was fired from all his jobs working with youth when he was arrested in 2014.

He was found guilty Nov. 15, but still has more charges pending against him for alleged sexual assault against three more children.

Middlesex County prosecutors say the heinous sex crimes he was convicted of occurred between June 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011, when Tarver was a coach and recreation director. The investigation began after one of the victims, now an adult, notified authorities. That victim was a member of the Monmouth Power Sports Club, a traveling basketball team affiliated with the AAU. Tarver had been the coach and executive director of the team since 1995.

The victim said Tarver sexually assaulted him multiple times, in Edison, Atlantic City, as well as inside the Dunellen Recreation Center. During the two years when the crimes were committed, Tarver had supervisory power and the legal duty to care for the teen. The abuse started when the boy was 15 years old.

Tarver was found guilty by a jury on 20 criminal counts on Nov. 15 of last year, including eight counts of endangering the welfare of a child in the second degree, one count of engaging in a pattern of official misconduct in the second degree, one count of sexual assault in the second degree, five counts of criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree and four counts of official misconduct in the fourth degree.

He was also found in possession of child pornography when police raided his Jackson Township home on April 8, 2014.

Tarver still faces criminal charges involving three other child victims he allegedly sexually assaulted.

Tarver is facing a prison term of up to 50 years in prison when he is sentenced in New Brunswick on March 9.

“Frequently, child sexual predators actively seek out positions which allow them access to children, such as coaching," said Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey. "In some cases, sexual predators may change positions frequently to avoid detection. In order to stop such horrific sexual abuse, it is extremely important that background checks be conducted and detailed questions be asked of prior employers anytime someone is applying for a job which requires interaction with children.”

Tarver began working as the Dunellen Recreation Director in 2004, but was suspended soon after he was arrested in 2014.

Tarver was employed as a men’s basketball coach at Middlesex County College from October 21, 2006 to March 5, 2014 and became the college’s head basketball coach on June 24, 2010. He was fired from that job after he was arrested.

Photo of Christopher Tarver provided by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office