Detective Sent Naked Photo To Monmouth County Minor, Prosecutor Says

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ — A detective in the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office has been arrested for sending lewd texts and a naked photo to a minor in Monmouth County, prosecutors said.

Michael Vermeylen, 42, of Oak Ridge (Morris County), was charged Friday with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree
obscenity to minors, said the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office on Monday.

The office had been investigating Vermeylen by monitoring the minor's phone, according to prosecutors.

"The investigation revealed that Vermeylen sent inappropriate sexual text messages to the victim, a known acquaintance and Monmouth County resident," prosecutors said in a release. "Vermeylen expressed his attraction to the juvenile, and sent a naked picture of himself to the victim."

Vermeylen was taken Friday to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution to await proceedings in Monmouth County Superior Court, prosecutors said.

A spokesperson for the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office told Patch on Tuesday that Vermeylen has been suspended without pay as the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office investigates.

Anyone with information about Vermeylen’s activities is being urged to contact Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Detective Anthony Lacher at 800-533-7443, prosecutors said.

This case is being prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Competello of the MCPO High Tech Bureau, prosecutors said.