Hunterdon County man sentenced to 15 years for recording girl in changing room, child exploitation charges
FLEMINGTON, N.J. (Hunterdon County) — A Hunterdon County man has been sentenced to 15 years in state prison after pleading guilty to charges related to child sexual abuse material and secretly recording a minor, prosecutors said.
Ron Rothman, 52, of Ringoes, was sentenced April 20 by Superior Court Judge Christopher J. Garrenger to an aggregate 15-year term, including six years of parole ineligibility, according to Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée Robeson. He will also be subject to Megan’s Law registration and parole supervision for life.
The sentence stems from a joint investigation by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office and Raritan Township police.
Authorities said the case began March 17, 2023, when a juvenile girl reported that an unidentified man had used a cellphone to secretly record her while she was trying on clothing in a store dressing room in Raritan Township. Investigators later identified the suspect as Rothman.
A subsequent search of Rothman’s phone uncovered numerous unrelated items of child sexual abuse material, prosecutors said.
Rothman pleaded guilty in September 2025 to second-degree endangering the welfare of a child for creating or photographing a depiction of child sexual exploitation and for possessing child sexual abuse material.
Judge Garrenger sentenced Rothman to consecutive prison terms of seven years, with three-and-a-half years of parole ineligibility, and eight years, with two-and-a-half years of parole ineligibility. The sentence will run concurrently with a five-year term he previously received in Mercer County for third-degree invasion of privacy.
In response to the sentence, Prosecutor Robeson commented, “Our courts have long acknowledged that offenses involving the sexual exploitation of children inflict profound harm and carry lasting consequences for the victims. Child pornography, in particular, retraumatizes those children every time an image or video is viewed.”
Robeson also credited assistant prosecutors, investigators and partner agencies for their work on the case, as well as the county’s Office of Victim Witness Advocacy for supporting victims.
