NJ teacher accused of sex chat, calls with '14-year-old boy'

A Long Branch science teacher was arrested on Tuesday morning and charged with endangering the welfare of a child after investigators said he went online to try to exploit underage boys.

Jesse Rosenbaum, 65, a teacher at Long Branch Middle School, was soliciting underage males online to participate in sexual acts and sexual conversation, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said.

Prosecutors said Rosenbaum, who goes by "Mr. R" in school, was communicating with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old male via sexually explicit emails, text messages and phone conversations. Rosenbaum was in fact communicating with an undercover detective in Mercer County.

Rosenbaum was arrested near his Manalapan home during a traffic stop and is being held at the Mercer County Correction Center pending a detention hearing. New Jersey 101.5 did not know Tuesday whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's officer did not immediately respond to a message on Tuesday afternoon asking how Rosenbaum got the attention of Mercer County investigators.

Onofri asked anyone with information to contact the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at 609-273-0065.

Rosenbaum began teaching in Long Branch in 2005 and started his present position in 2013. He taught three 7th grade science classes and two in-class support classes this school year, according to his school's website.

He has been married for 42 years and has three grown children.

Long Branch schools Superintendent Michael Salvatore did not immediately return a message on Tuesday afternoon seeking comment about Rosenbaum and the status of his position.