Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said in a news release on Monday, Nov. 18, that Ryan Gunsauls, 33, pleaded guilty during a hearing in superior court.
At the start of the investigation in May, a teen said Gunsauls had used a social media app to ask for and share sexually explicit content.
In the course of the investigation, eight more victims aged 11 to 17 were found. Gunsauls was being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, and a judge agreed to keep him there.
Gunsauls admitted to putting children in first-degree danger by making sexual abuse materials for children, attempting to put children in second- and third-degree danger by making sexual abuse materials for children, and second- and third-degree endangering through sexual conduct.
It says that Gunsauls is a volunteer firefighter with Union Beach Fire Company No. 1. He was also a police dispatcher for the borough. He graduated from the fire school in Monmouth County in May 2010.
Lawyers for the prosecution were going to suggest that Gunsauls get 12 years in prison. He would have to serve more than 10 years before he could get parole because of the No Early Release Act.
As part of the plea deal, he was also given sex offender restraining orders that stopped him from contacting the victims and lifetime supervision of his parole.
The sentencing was set for March 6, 2025, Thursday.
