Ex-Mantua lieutenant’s affair leads to police misconduct conviction

🚔 A former Mantua police lieutenant was convicted of official misconduct and computer crimes tied to an altercation involving a woman’s husband.

📱 Prosecutors said Shaun Butler accessed confidential police reports, shared details with the woman and added information to a subordinate officer’s draft report.

⚖️ Butler faces up to 20 years in prison across three convictions. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4, 2026.

MANTUA — A former South Jersey police lieutenant was found guilty Thursday of official misconduct and related computer crimes connected to a fight with the husband of a woman with whom he was having an affair, Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew B. Johns announced.

Former Mantua police lieutenant convicted after six-week trial

On Sept. 11, 2021, Shaun J. Butler, 46, who was a lieutenant in the Internal Affairs Department of the Mantua Township Police Department, was involved in an off-duty sexual encounter, when the woman’s husband found the pair in their home, leading to an altercation, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in open court.

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Instead of calling 911, Butler used the Mantua dispatch number, failing to identify himself as a police officer. He also refused to respond to questions from subordinate responding officers when asked about the events leading to the argument.

Prosecutors say Butler accessed confidential police reports

In the days following the incident, Butler used his access to the department’s restricted law enforcement database to read the officers’ reports, despite warnings the database should be used only for valid law enforcement purposes.

Prosecutors also say Butler described the contents of those reports over the phone to the woman involved, and also discussed over phone and messenger chats, how he could use his access to confidential records to minimize the incident and avoid any embarrassment.

Former officer added details to subordinate’s draft report

Five days later on Sept. 16, Butler logged into a subordinate officer’s draft report and added details attributed to that officer, prosecutors said.

Following a six-week jury trial, Butler was found guilty of second-degree official misconduct, third-degree computer crimes involving unauthorized access, and third-degree computer crimes involving access and disclosure.

Butler faces up to 20 years in prison

Butler faces up to 10 years in prison for the official misconduct conviction and up to five years for each computer crime conviction when he is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 4, 2026.

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