Plainfield Man Convicted of Aberdeen Teen Sex Attack

A Plainfield 40-year-old faces up to 20 years in prison at his scheduled March 1 sentencing for the sexual assault of an Aberdeen 13-year-old in May 2011. But owing to a prior conviction, his stay might be longer.

After a week-long trial in Monmouth County Superior Court in Freehold, Jerrish L. Halsey was convicted Wednesday on two counts of second-degree sexual assault, one third-degree charge of endangering the welfare of a child, and a fourth-degree count of criminal sexual contact, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Grammiccioni.

The case surfaced when Aberdeen school officials notified police of a disclosure given by a student. Investigators say that Halsey subjected the teen to sexual abuse five times in 2011. He was arrested within days and placed in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold.

Authorities say that Halsey risks extended imprisonment because the offense involved in this conviction occurred while he was under lifetime community supervision for a Union County sexual assault to which he pleaded guilty in May 2000. His sentencing falls under the guideliines of the No Early Release Act, requiring him to serve at least 85 percent of the term before parole eligibility.