TINTON FALLS, NJ – A 41-year-old man was arrested after police found him hiding a distressed 17-year-old girl inside a motel room in Tinton Falls on Wednesday.
Jerome L. Harbour took the 17-year-old girl, who was reported to be ‘in distress’ by police, into the motel room. When police arrived, he denied she was in the room and hindered the police investigation of the missing girl.
“Members of the Tinton Falls Police Department received information that a 17-year-old female may be in crisis somewhere in the area of Eatontown or Tinton Falls,” the Tinton Falls Police Department said in a statement. “A subsequent search of the area led officers to a motel near the interchange of Route 18, Route 36, and the Garden State Parkway. When officers knocked on the door of the room where Harbour was staying, he denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of the teen in question, but moments later, she was found hidden in his room.”
Habour was arrested and charged with promoting the prostitution of a teenager, endangering the welfare of a child, hindering apprehension, and multiple drug possession charges.
“The victim was then taken to safety, and a subsequent investigation involving members of the MCPO Special Victims Bureau and the Tinton Falls Police Department uncovered evidence leading to the aforementioned criminal charges, including information that Harbour had discarded the victim’s cell phone in a neighboring town. In addition, a search of Harbour’s room uncovered quantities of suspected cocaine, oxycodone, and two types of prescription tranquilizers,” the department said.