Eatontown Man Convicted Of Repeatedly Sexually Assaulting A Child

TOMS RIVER, NJ - An Ocean County jury convicted an Eatontown man on Thursday of numerous sexual assaults of one child for many years in several towns, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Christopher Ward Barclay, 40, was convicted of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child in Toms River during 2005 and 2006; the same charges in Berkeley Township between 2006 and 2010; and the same charges in Woodbridge Township during the years 2010 and 2012, Della Fave said.

Detective Alex Bromley of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, and Detective Jennifer Grob of the Toms River Township Police Department charged Barclay on Feb. 23, 2017. The victim had previously told police of the multiple incidents of sexual abuse occurring in the three towns.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Department in Sterrett, Alabama ultimately arrested Barclay. Ocean County Superior Court Judge Barbara Villano detained Barclay without bail. He will be held without bail until his sentencing, Della Fave said.

Barclay will be sentenced under the “Jessica Lunsford Act” which requires the Court to impose a custodial sentence of between twenty-five years and life for the first-degree sexual assault conviction, of which the defendant must serve a minimum of twenty-five years before being considered for parole eligibility. He faces five to 10 years, subject to the No Early Release Act, on each of the sexual assault charges, and five to 10 years on each of the endangering the welfare of a child charges, Della Fave said.

Barclay will also be subject to the provisions of Meghan’s Law, parole supervision for life and Nicole’s law.

Photo: Courtesy of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office