Former Scout volunteer from Cape May County, NJ, gets 25 years

A North Cape May man who volunteered with a local Scout troop is headed to prison on child porn and child sexual assault-related charges.

John T. Gillespie sentenced

Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland says last Friday, 37-year-old John T. Gillespie was sentenced to 25 years behind bars.

On October 17th of last year, Gillespie was indicted on first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child (possession of child sexual abuse material), and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child (distribution of CSAM) charges.

This past July, he pleaded guilty to two of those charges, first-degree aggravated sexual assault and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

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1,800 child porn files discovered

This sentence was related to a court-authorized search warrant executed at Gillespie's home on Town Bank Road on February 10th, 2023.

During that raid, WPVI-TV reported multiple computers, tablets, and a hard drive were seized and roughly 1,800 items of suspected child abuse materials were found.

February 2023 video from WPVI-TV

During the investigation into this case, a then 11-year-old girl told Lower Township Police she had been sexually assaulted by Gillespie for three years starting in February 2020, according to the prosecutor.

Parole for life

Under the Jessica Lunsford Act, Gillespie must serve at least 15 years of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. He is also subject to Megan's Law and parole supervision for life.

In a statement, Sutherland thanked the New Jersey State Police, Department of Homeland Security Investigations-Atlantic City, and the Lower Township Police Department for their work in this case.

Help authorities in Cape May County

Citizens of Cape May County can report information regarding any criminal activity by calling (609) 465-1135. Anonymous tips are welcome.

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