Ocean County, NJ, man sentenced for sexual assault during fake date

An Ocean County man is headed to prison for sexually assaulting a woman he pursued on a dating website.

On Monday, 56-year-old Gary M. Kearns of Brick was sentenced to four years in state prison on a second-degree sexual assault charge.

Prosecutors say in 2021, Kearns met and courted the victim in this case through Facebook dating. After giving her a false name, he picked her up and drove her to a hotel in Atlantic City under the pretense of going on a date. At a hotel in the city, he sexually assaulted her and then fled the scene.

Kearns pleaded guilty to that sexual assault charge this past August.

He will be required to serve just over three years behind bars before becoming eligible for parole. Once released, he will be under parole supervision for life and will be required to register under Megan’s Law.

This case was investigated by the Atlantic City Police Department’s Special Victim’s Unit and the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victim’s Unit. Assistant Prosecutor Tiffany deGrandmaison prosecuted the case for the State.