Ex-N.J. high school basketball coach sentenced to prison for sexually assaulting student

A former teacher and high school basketball coach from Monmouth County was sentenced Friday to more than five years in prison for sexually assaulting an underage student. Justin M. McGhee, 36, pleaded guilty Nov. 17, 2025, to second-degree aggravated sexual assault. He was sentenced Friday to 5 years, 6 months in state prison, court records show. McGhee, who was a gym teacher and head coach of the Middletown High School North girls’ basketball team, admitted to investigators he sexually assaulted the victim when she was between the ages of 16 and 17. APP.com reported the first incident occurred on Dec. 12, 2024, when McGhee sent the girl a late-night text message asking her to pick him up from a bar. After she arrived, McGhee got into the back seat of the vehicle and sexually assaulted her. A second encounter took place in January 2025, when McGhee texted the girl and directed her to come to his home. He sexually assaulted her again at the residence, APP.com reported. According to an affidavit of probable cause, police were first tipped off in December 2024 that McGhee was having an inappropriate relationship with a student, but the tip didn’t name the student. School officials later told police that the district received an email about McGhee with similar allegations. Police learned the identity of the teen and interviewed her and her parents. McGhee gave up his teaching certificates shortly after his guilty plea, according to the New Jersey State Board of Examiners. In addition to prison time, McGhee was ordered to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law. He will be under parole supervision for life upon his release. McGhee’s attorney, Mitchell Ansell, was not immediately available to comment on Saturday. According to APP.com, Ansell told the court that McGhee understands he made “a horrible mistake” and that he sought counseling shortly after he was arrested.