lawyer

NJ Boy Scout Leader Charged With Child Endangerment: Prosecutor

A Boy Scout leader was arrested after sending sexually explicit messages to a child, prosecutors said Saturday. 

Joseph Palermo, 25, of Hazlet, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said. 

Palmero, a volunteer assistant scoutmaster, was accused of exchanging multiple sexually explicit messages with a young boy, prosecutors said. It wasn't clear whether the boy was a member of his troop. 

Palmero was released from jail on Friday on the conditions that he has no unsupervised contact with children and no contact with the victim. 

Ryan Clark, the lawyer who represents Palmero, said his client is entitled to the presumption of innocence and asked for privacy for Palermo and his family. Clark said Palermo had no further comment. 

Michael P. Mahon, a spokesman for Boy Scouts of America, said the organization quickly responded when it learned about the incident. 

"The behavior included in these allegations is abhorrent and runs counter to everything for which the Boy Scouts of America stands," Mahon said in a statement to News 4. "Upon learning of these reports, we took immediate action to remove this individual and prohibit him from any future participation in our programs." 

Mahon said the organization offers assistance with counseling to scouts and former scouts who have suffered abuse. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Shawn Murphy of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-431-7160 ext. 7032 or Detective Darrin Simon of the Middletown Police Department at 732-615-2100.

Contact Us