Former Manville police chief gets seven years in prison for misconduct, sexual assault
TRENTON, N.J. — Former Manville Police Chief Thomas Herbst was sentenced Monday to seven years in New Jersey state prison for sexually assaulting and victimizing several subordinates over more than a decade, conduct that often occurred while he was on duty, authorities said.
New Jersey Superior Court Judge Peter J. Tober imposed the sentence in Somerset County on Aug. 11, ruling that Herbst, 57, of Bridgewater Township, must serve 85 percent of the term — about six years — on the sexual assault charge and a mandatory minimum of five years on the official misconduct counts before becoming eligible for parole. The sentences will be served concurrently. Herbst will be subject to lifetime parole supervision and must register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law. He was taken into custody immediately after sentencing.
Herbst was convicted in February after a three-week trial on several counts of official misconduct, one count of pattern of official misconduct, one count of sexual assault — all second-degree crimes — and one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact.
“The defendant’s abuse of power inflicted lasting damage to his victims’ lives,” Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. “Today’s sentence brings some measure of justice to the victims and the community. My office will continue to work to bolster public confidence in government, to ensure the safety of all, and to combat sexual offenses in all forms.”
According to trial evidence, Herbst victimized at least three women, beginning in 2008 when he groped, exposed himself to, and sexually harassed a police department employee. Over the next 13 years, his conduct escalated to sexual assault, often inside police headquarters.
Jurors also found that in 2016 and 2017, Herbst solicited sexual favors from the wife of a subordinate officer in exchange for favorable employment decisions, including a promotion, and demanded sexually explicit photos of another subordinate’s wife for a schedule change.
