A New Jersey high school girls basketball coach pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually assaulting a minor.
Justin McGhee, 36, copped to one count of second-degree sexual assault, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office said Wednesday in a statement. Authorities will recommend a prison sentence of 5.5 years at his Feb. 20 sentencing hearing.
McGhee was the girls basketball head coach at Middletown High School North from the 2020-21 season until January, when he was first arrested in the case. McGhee was also an assistant football coach and a gym teacher at the school about 25 miles south of Central Park.
Middletown cops were tipped off to McGhee’s inappropriate relationship with a student in December 2024 and began investigating. They found he assaulted the student multiple times in the basement of his home in Ocean Township. The victim was 16 and 17 years old during the assaults.
McGhee admitted to the crimes in an interview with police, according to authorities. He was first arrested on Jan. 28.
In addition to the prison sentence, McGhee will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release, and he is barred from ever contacting the victim or returning to Middletown High School North.
