TRENTON — A Point Pleasant man, and former investigator of the New Jersey Victims of Crime Compensation Office, has been indicted after using his position to allegedly engage in sexual messages to victims of violent or traumatic crimes.
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) announced on March 20 that a former investigator for the New Jersey Victims of Crime Compensation Office (VCCO) has been indicted after allegedly exploiting his official position to send messages solicitous of an intimate relationship, sexually suggestive messages or sexually explicit messages to crime victims who were seeking VCCO support.
Guilherme H. Jamarino, 47, of Point Pleasant, was indicted by a state grand jury in Trenton. In the indictment, it was alleged that between roughly December 2019 and July 2022, Jamarino used his official position to send sexually suggestive and inappropriate communications to at least six victims.
“We allege that although this defendant worked for an office that helps crime victims, he instead subjected them to further injustice,” said Attorney General Platkin. “His alleged behavior exploited his professional relationship with the victims and further eroded the trust of these victims when they needed support and reassurance.”
Drew Skinner, executive director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, said in a press release, “As alleged, the defendant’s job was to help crime victims, but instead, he used his official position for his own benefit.”
The VCCO, an agency within the Department of Law and Public Safety, helps violent crime victims recover by providing financial assistance to victims, their families and victim service providers, to help alleviate the economic and emotional burdens of victimization.
“As an investigator, Jamarino’s responsibilities included helping vulnerable crime victims obtain financial reimbursement for costs arising from their victimization,” the press release states. “The investigation revealed that Jamarino took advantage of the access that his position gave him to the contact information of female victims he was assigned to assist, in order to send sexually suggestive and inappropriate messages to the victims.”
The indictment alleged that Jamarino’s communications with the women included discussions regarding their VCCO claims, interspersed with nude or partially nude photographs of Jamarino and invitations to meet him in person.
Evidence obtained during the OPIA investigation showed that from approximately Dec. 9, 2021 to July 20, 2022, Jamarino used his personal cell phone to communicate via text message and social media apps with at least four victims regarding their VCCO claims.
Jamarino allegedly sent messages to the victims which shifted in tone and context from professional in nature to inappropriate and oftentimes sexual and explicit. Several victims reported they were often upset and confused by the communications, since Jamarino was their point of contact, as the VCCO investigator, and responsible for supporting their claims process.
He allegedly sent one victim a photo of himself shirtless wearing a towel, and a video of himself from the neck up in the shower. He also allegedly sent another victim a photo of himself looking in a mirror wearing only a towel and gripping the towel in front of his groin. Jamarino then sent the same victim a message that said, “send the address, and I’ll come get you” and included two heart-eyed emojis.
Jamarino allegedly sent the same victim additional messages in the days that followed, including one which read: “send pics, pretty lady. Full body pics if you have any,” according to a press release.
The press release continues and states that Jamarino allegedly sent messages to several victims asking them to come over to his apartment, or, in another case, asking a victim what city she lived in so he could drive out to where she lived.
He allegedly offered to give another victim a massage and sent the victim a picture of an undressed woman receiving a massage. Jamarino allegedly sent more than one victim photos of himself at a gun range and sent another victim a shirtless picture of himself with guns in the background, knowing that she was a victim of gun violence. More than one of the victims reported these images made them fear for their safety.
Jamarino’s employment with the VCCO ended on Monday, July 25, 2022.
The indictment charges seven counts: six counts of official misconduct in the second degree and one count of pattern of official misconduct in the second degree.
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