Ex-State Trooper Who Sought Sex From Teen Girl Gets Prison

FREEHOLD, NJ — A former NJ State Police Trooper has been sentenced to time in prison after trying to arrange a sexual encounter with a child in Freehold last summer, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said.

Shane H. Dempsey, 33, was sentenced on Wednesday to seven years in state prison by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Henry R. Butehorn.

Under the terms set down by Judge Butehorn, Dempsey must serve at least two years before he becomes eligible for parole, and will have to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and be subject to Parole Supervision for Life, Santiago said.

Dempsey was also ordered to forfeit his public position and was barred from future public employment in New Jersey for life.

This sentencing comes after an investigation was initiated in 2024 by a prosecutor’s office detective who went undercover on the social media app Whisper.

While monitoring the app, Santiago said the detective was contacted by another user, later identified as Dempsey, who tried to solicit sexually explicit images and expressed a desire to pay money in exchange for a sex act from a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl.

Following this exchange, Santiago said Dempsey arrived for a meeting with the girl in his police-issued vehicle and was then taken into custody.

On Monday, Aug. 4, he pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted sexual assault and third-degree official misconduct, Santiago said.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Competello of the Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Bureau. Dempsey was represented by Thomas Huth, Esq., with an office in Freehold.

Previous Coverage

• Former NJ State Trooper Admits To Attempted Sex Assault Of Minor: Prosecutor
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