Sex Assault Charges Filed Against Trenton Man
The Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office has announced that the finally have in custody who them believe sexually assaulted a child back in 2013 in Lambertville.
The Defendant, a thirty-six year old male from the City of Trenton is alleged to have sexually assaulted a thirteen year old child from Lambertville back in 2013. The sexual assault is believed to have taken place over an extended period of time and was not just an isolated incident. It appears that like most other sexual assault cases that involve a minor, the allegations were not made known till 2016, some three years after the assault occurred. As a result, the authorities had a hard time locating the Defendant after the allegations were brought to light. In fact, according to the reports, the U.S. Marshall’s Fugitive Task Force were the ones who were finally able to apprehend the Defendant although the Lambertville Police Department and Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office was heavily involved in the investigation. The Defendant has formally been charged with aggravated sexual assault in the first degree, sexual assault in the second degree and lewdness in the fourth-degree. Following the arrest, the Defendant was most likely taken to the Somerset County Jail, where he will pending what is known as a Detention Hearing.
How Do Detention Hearings Work in New Jersey?
If a prosecutor’s office files for what is known as a Detention Hearing, that means that they will be seeking to detain the Defendant in the local county jail, pending trial, without bail. This is a new “tool” that county prosecutor’s have thanks to the Bail Reform that swept through New Jersey back in January of 2017. In the case above, the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office will be seeking to convince a Judge that the Defendant must remain in custody, without bail, pending trial. In order for the Judge to order this, the prosecution must establish by clear and convincing evidence that the Defendant is flight risk, a danger to society or that he may seek to interfere with the prosecution of his case. Based on the fact that it took so long to located the Defendant, there is a good chance the prosecutors office will be successful during the Detention Hearing. For more information on Detention Hearings, please contact our Bridgewater office at 908-533-1064 or leave us an email.
Charged with a Sex Offense in Hunterdon County?
Keith Oliver Criminal Law defends those accused of crimes like sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, lewdness, aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child in courts throughout New Jersey, including Somerset and Hunterdon County. These are very complex crimes and as such we strongly recommend that you speak to an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible about your options. Our office serves all of Somerset and Hunterdon County, including towns like Lambertville, Clinton, Readington, Raritan, Bridgewater, Bound Brook, Bedminster, Bernards, Watchung, North Plainfield and Somerville. If you would like to set up a free initial consultation, then please contact us at 908-533-1064. As always, our initial consultations are always free of costs.
For more information on this incident, please checkout nj.com’s article labeled Trenton Man Charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault in Hunterdon County.
