By: Richard L. Smith
A former Mantua Township police lieutenant has been convicted of official misconduct and computer-related offenses after prosecutors said he improperly accessed confidential police records and altered a report following a personal dispute.
According to information released by Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew B. Johns, Shaun J. Butler, 46, of Mantua, was found guilty following a six-week jury trial before Superior Court Judge James Bucci.
Prosecutors said the case stems from a September 11, 2021, incident involving Butler, who was then assigned to the Mantua Township Police Department’s Internal Affairs unit.
Authorities said Butler was involved in an off-duty intimate encounter with a woman when her husband discovered them inside their home, resulting in an altercation.
Instead of dialing 911, Butler contacted the township’s police dispatch line without identifying himself as a police officer. When responding officers attempted to question him about the incident, he declined to provide details.
Investigators determined that Butler subsequently accessed restricted police databases to review reports prepared by responding officers, despite knowing the system was intended strictly for legitimate law enforcement purposes.
Prosecutors said Butler shared information from those reports with the woman and discussed ways he could use his access to confidential records to downplay the incident and avoid embarrassment.
On September 16, 2021, Butler allegedly went further by accessing a subordinate officer’s unfinished police report and inserting additional information that appeared to have been written by that officer.
Following the trial, jurors convicted Butler of second-degree official misconduct and two third-degree computer offenses involving unauthorized access and disclosure of restricted information.
Butler faces up to 10 years in state prison on the official misconduct conviction and up to five years on each computer-related conviction.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 4, 2026.