Prosecutor: Local Youth Soccer Coach Pleads Guilty to Sex Crimes Against Student-Athletes

A local youth soccer coach has pleaded guilty to a variety of sexual crimes against student-athletes formerly under his supervision and could face 12 years in prison, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Monday.

In a hearing held late last week before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Christie Bevacqua, 33-year-old Ryan Gunsauls, of Union Beach, pleaded guilty to: first-degree endangering the welfare of a child by manufacturing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), second-degree attempted endangering via manufacture of CSAM, and second- and third-degree endangering via sexual conduct.

An investigation led by MCPO Detective Joseph Mason, involving members of the MCPO Special Victims Bureau and the Union Beach Police Department, began earlier this year, when a juvenile disclosed that Gunsauls had been soliciting and distributing sexually explicit materials with him via a social media app.

As the investigation continued, eight additional victims, ranging in age from 11 to 17, were identified and contacted for interviews. Gunsauls was arrested in May and transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI). A motion by the Prosecutor’s Office to keep him detained as the case against him proceeds was granted by a Superior Court Judge later the same month.

Sentencing in the case has been scheduled for Thursday, March 6, 2025, at which time the state intends to recommend a term of 12 years in state prison, with 85 percent required to be served before the possibility of parole, in accordance with New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA).

Under the terms of his plea, which was crafted in consultation with the victims and their families, Gunsauls would also be subject to parole supervision for life and have to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, along with complying with sex offender restraining orders barring him from any further contact with his victim.