An area youth soccer coach has been charged with distributing sexually explicit images to and engaging in sexually explicit conversations with eight of the student-athletes under his supervision, two of whom he also allegedly touched inappropriately, Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Christopher J. Decker announced on Tuesday.

Ryan Gunsauls, 32, of Union Beach, has been charged with eight counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, eight counts of third-degree distributing obscene materials to a minor, two counts of second-degree attempted endangering, two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, and single counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child via distribution of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and third-degree possession of CSAM.

An investigation involving members of the MCPO Special Victims Bureau and the Union Beach Police Department began last week, when a juvenile disclosed that Gunsauls had been soliciting and distributing sexually explicit materials of him via a social media app. As the investigation continued, the additional victims, ranging in age from 11 to 17, were identified and contacted for interviews.

Gunsauls was arrested in Hazlet on Friday, May 11, and transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI) pending a detention hearing tentatively scheduled for Monday, May 20, in Monmouth County Superior Court.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Keri-Leigh Schaefer of the MCPO Special Victims Bureau. Anyone with more information about Gunsauls’s activities is being urged to contact MCPO Detective Joseph Mason at 800-533-7443.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office

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