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Gerell Schmitt, 36, was sentenced on Tuesday, July 9 to 48 years in state prison, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said in a news release on Monday, July 15. He was charged in several sexual assaults of two young girls that started a little more than a decade ago.
A relative of the two victims first reported the abuse to Eatontown police in September 2020. Both girls were under 13 at the time of the sexual assaults.
Investigators said Schmitt raped the girls at several locations throughout the county, including in his Eatontown home.
"There are no greater responsibilities we have as an office than aggressively investigating and prosecuting the despicable actions of individuals who prey upon our vulnerable citizens, purely for their own selfish gratification," Santiago said in a statement. "The outcome of this case is emblematic of that notion."
Schmitt was arrested in October 2020 and was on trial earlier in 2024. A jury found him guilty of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree attempted aggravated sexual assault, two counts of second-degree sexual assault, and second- and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Schmitt must serve more than 40 years before he's eligible for parole under the No Early Release Act.
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