Steven Sheerer, the man Rosie O’Donnell’s 17-year-old missing daughter Chelsea was found with earlier this week, has been arrested.
The office of New Jersey’s Ocean County Prosecutor, Joseph D. Coronato, issued a statement Saturday saying that 25-year-old Sheerer was detained at his home Friday on charges of third degree endangering the welfare of a child and third degree distribution of obscenity to a minor. According to E! News, each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in state prison.
According to the statement, police “retrieved the 17-year-old victim’s cell phone with consent from the victim’s mother” and that the device contained “evidence of inappropriate communications over the last several weeks between Sheerer and the minor.” NBC New York confirmed that the mother in the statement is Rosie and the minor is her 17-year-old daughter Chelsea.
The statement also said that the prosecutor’s office conducted a search warrant of Sheerer’s home and authorities seized a computer and other digital equipment as part of the investigation. Sheerer is currently being held in jail on a $40,000 bond and is prohibited from contacting Chelsea or her family.
O’Donnell’s daughter was reported missing last week and found on Tuesday of this week at Sheerer’s home. According to a police spokesperson, it appeared that Chelsea was there voluntarily.
E! News also confirmed that Sheerer had been arrested on multiple offenses since 2012 including driving while intoxicated, heroin possession and disorderly conduct.