According to nj.com, a Mercer County corrections officer was arrested early in the day on Sunday in the City of Trenton, after an alleged victim was able to positively identify the Defendant as the one who had allegedly assaulted her earlier in the month. The Defendant, a twenty-two year vet of the Mercer County Department of Corrections, is allegedly to have sexually assaulted the victim in Cadwalader Park, which is located in the West Ward of the City. Based on the information that has been released at this point, the victim claims that the Defendant had picked her up near South Broad Street and drover her to the park. Once she was able to exit the vehicle, is when states that the Defendant charged her, tackled her to the ground and then sexually assaulted her. It appears that she was able to fight the Defendant off and flee to a security both to gain help. At that point, the Defendant was able to flee the scene and remained unknown until the victim spotted him on Sunday.
The Defendant, who resides in Hamilton Township, was taken into custody without issue and he has formally been charged with among other things, sexual assault. He remains in custody at an undisclosed location do to his affiliation with the Mercer County Jail. It has been reported that he is being detained pending a detention hearing. During that hearing, the prosecution will be seeking to convince a Judge to detain the Defendant, without bail, pending trial. If that is to occur, the Defendant will most likely be forced to defend that charges from inside jail. He has been suspended without pay pending the resolution of the charges.
How Serious is a Sexual Assault Charge in New Jersey?
Sexual assault is a second degree indictable offense in New Jersey. Although there are several different subsections in which the Defendant could be charged under, he is most likely charged under NJSA 2C:14-2(c)1. To be convicted under this subsection, the prosecution must establish that Defendant used some form of physical force or coercion in order to commit the act of sexual penetration. Furthermore, the victim must not sustain have sustained serious personal injury, otherwise the Defendant could be charged with aggravated sexual assault. For more information on how to defend sexual assault charges in New Jersey, please click the link. Anyone convicted of sexual assault in New Jersey will be facing up to a decade in prison, a $150,000 fine, forced to register under Megan’s Law for Life and placed on parole supervision for life. As you can see, these charges are extremely serious.
Sexual Assault Lawyers in New Jersey
Regardless of whether you have been charged with sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, possession of child pornography, endangering the welfare of a child or any other offense for that matter, the Keith Oliver Criminal Law can help. Being charged with a criminal offense can be scary but being charged with a serious sex offense like sexual assault can be downright terrifying. The stigma alone of being charged with a sex offense can severely affect someone’s future let alone if they were to be convicted. If you would like to speak to one of our Mercer County criminal defense attorneys about your options, then please contact us at 609-789-0779.
