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48°
Saturday, apr 27
Tag:
Sexual Assault
Police & Fire
Former NJ Middle School Teacher Sexually Assaulted Student: Prosecutor
A 32-year-old former teacher from North Bergen has been charged with sexually assaulting a student at Carteret Middle School, authorities said. Jeffrey Munguia was also charged on Wednesday, April 24 with endangering the welfare of a child, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Carterest Police Chief Dennis McFadden. The investigation revealed that Munguia was the victim’s teacher at Carteret Middle School when the incident occurred in 2022, they said. He was arrested without incident on Wednesday. The investigation is active and continuing. An…
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Sentenced For Home Invasion, Sexually Assaulting Woman In Asbury Park: Prosecutors
An Asbury Park ex-convict will spend more than three decades in prison after he was convicted of a home invasion and sexual assault, authorities said. Shawn Connolly, 37, was sentenced on Tuesday, Apr. 23 to 40 years in prison, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced in a news release. He'll be eligible for parole after 34 years under the No Early Release Act. Asbury Park police responded to a home on Seventh Avenue just before 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Officers immediately found Connolly, arrested him, and recovered what he stole from his pockets. Investigat…
Police & Fire
Camden County Man Convicted In Decade-Old Central Jersey Rape Case
A 40-year-old man from Camden County has been convicted for rape during a home invasion break-in nearly 10 years ago, authorities said. Danny McEaddy, of Sicklerville, was found guilty by a jury on Thursday, April 18, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone. On Sept. 21, 2014, a female reported being sexually assaulted by an unknown male who had unlawfully forced his way into her apartment in the Keasbey section of Woodbridge Township. Based on the DNA analysis of biological samples found at the crime scene, McEaddy was identified as the man who s…
Police & Fire
Hamilton West HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial
A Mercer County high school teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student several times at a Monmouth County wildlife preserve was released from jail to await her trial, authorities said. A judge denied a request on Wednesday, Apr. 17 to keep 37-year-old Jessica Sawicki of Point Pleasant Beach in jail through her trial, a Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson said. She was charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault and five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Sawicki was arrested on Monday, Apr. 8, according to an affidavit obtai…
Police & Fire
Hamilton West Teacher Admit She Had Unprotected Sex With Student Five Or More Times: Affidavit
A Mercer County high school teacher admitted to sexually assaulting a student multiple times times in a vehicle at a Monmouth County wildlife preserve, according to police paperwork obtained by Daily Voice. Jessica Sawicki, 37, of Point Pleasant, was arrested on Monday, Apr. 8, and charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault and five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. New Jersey Fish and Wildlife officers found Sawicki and the victim "in states of undress" in the back of the victim's car at Assunpink Wildlife Management Area in Upper…
Police & Fire
South Jersey Corrections Officer Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting Girl Under 13 Years Old
A Cape May County corrections officer was convicted of sexually assaulting a girl younger than 13 years old, authorities said. A jury found 34-year-old Jonathan Perez guilty on four charges on Friday, Apr. 12, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland said in a news release. He was charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault of a minor, second-degree sexual assault, and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. The trial began on Monday, Mar. 18, more than a year after he was arrested. The girl reported the abuse "over an extended period of time" to st…
Police & Fire
Man Accused Of Trying To Abduct Girl In South Jersey Crime Spree To Remain In Jail
A Monmouth County man will remain in jail after he was accused of trying to kidnap a teen girl and groping a woman in a Target parking lot during a two-county crime spree, authorities said. Quamel Benton, 35, of Farmingdale, was ordered by a judge on Wednesday, Apr. 10 to remain in Burlington County Jail through his trial, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. He was charged in Ocean County with attempted kidnapping, luring, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal sexual contact, two counts of eluding, resisting arrest, and obstruction. L…
Police & Fire
Hamilton HS West Teacher Sexually Assaulted Student In Wildlife Management Area: Prosecutors
A Mercer County high school English teacher was accused of sexually assaulting a student, authorities said. Jessica Sawicki, 37, of Point Pleasant, was arrested for "having a sexual relationship" with a student, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said in a news release on Tuesday, Apr. 9. She was charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault and five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. The investigation into the Hamilton High School West teacher began in early 2024. Investigators said Sawicki "engaged in s…
Police & Fire
NJ Rapist Who Impregnated Girl Under 13 Years Old Sentenced
A Millville man was sentenced to 40 years in New Jersey State Prison for sexual assault after impregnating a girl under 13 years old, authorities said. Justin Kuhl, 32, was arrested in September 2020 for assaulting the minor, resulting in her pregnancy, according to Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae. Kuhl was later found guilty of two counts of First Degree Aggravated Sexual Assault and two counts and Second Degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and sentenced on Wednesday, March 27. The investigation was conducted by members of the New Jersey St…
News
South Jersey Man Awarded $750K Over 30-Year-Old Sex Assault Case At Youth Center
A man from Woodbury has won a $750,000 lawsuit for sexual assaults that he was allegedly subjected to at a Salem County youth shelter 30 years ago. Dennis Bachman filed suit in Superior Court in December 2019, accusing a female counselor of sexually assaulting him at the former New Jersey Juveniles in Need of Supervision facility in Woodstown. The alleged abuse occurred around 1994 when Bachman was 15 years old. The lawsuit accused the county of failing to monitor the counselor’s behavior and failing to prevent the sexual assaults. The lawsuit says the counselor "exploited the trust…
Police & Fire
Horrifying
: Convicted Sex Offender Lured Foreign Woman To NJ To Abuse Her Kids, Feds Say
WARNING: The allegations described in this report are horrific in the extreme. A registered sex offender from Bergen County lured a woman from the other side of the world to the United States so he could sexually abuse her two young children, federal authorities charged. Corey Hipscher, 52, of Lodi first got the woman's 11-year-old daughter to take naked selfies and send them to him after connecting directly with the youngster on social media, the FBI said. Among the horrific images, federal authorities said, is a video of the youngster self-penetrating with the top of a bowling pin. Soon…
Police & Fire
NJ Grade School Custodian, 76, Charged With Sexually Assaulting 9-Year-Old Girl
A 76-year-old custodian at a grade school in Hackensack was charged with sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl. Phillip A. Porter of Hackensack is accused of rubbing the child’s breasts and vagina and putting his penis in her mouth, according to a complaint filed in Superior Court. Special Victims Unit detectives arrested Porter on Monday, March 25, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. He remained held Tuesday in the Bergen County Jail. Porter is charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault by contact and child endangerment. The 6-foot-3-inch, 165-pound Porter, formerly …
Police & Fire
'Fitness Guru' With 'Sex Slave Training Program' May Have More Victims In Philly Area: FBI
A California man is facing federal charges out of the FBI's Philadelphia Field Office for a child exploitation scheme, and authorities believe he may have more victims in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. According to the FBI, John Douglas Burch, of Santa Monica, began praying on girls as early as 2014, and has been charged in an indictment with traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct and enticement of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and prostitution, United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero and FBI Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs said. …
Police & Fire
Camden County Man Bound Women In Shed, Sexually Assaulted Them: Prosecutor
A Camden County man accused of tying up two women he knew in a shed, sexually assaulting them and choking one of them has been arrested, authorities said. On March 7, Waterford Township police received a 911 call from a woman who said that 26-year-old Brandon C. Fickenscher had attacked her on separate occasions, according to Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay and Acting Berlin Township Police Chief Louis Bordi. Detectives learned that Fickenscher, of Berlin Township, had sexually and physically assaulted the victim in Berlin Township in December 2023, they said.…
Police & Fire
NJ National Guard Recruiter Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Teen
A New Jersey Army National Guard recruiter was accused of sexually assaulting a teen girl, authorities said. Shawn Nguyen, 44, of Egg Harbor Township, was arrested on Monday, Mar. 11. The Township of Hamilton Police Department announced his arrest in a news release. An investigation into Nguyen began in June 2022 when Township of Hamilton officers responded to a report of a "female in distress" at the Wawa gas station on Black Horse Pike in Mays Landing. Investigators said Nguyen used his position as a recruiter to sexually assault the 16-year-old girl. Nguyen was cha…
Police & Fire
South Jersey Man Sentenced For Sexually Assaulting Children: Prosecutor
A 50-year-old man from Burlington County has been sentenced to 21 years in New Jersey State Prison without parole for sexually assaulting children, authorities said. Ian Forrester, of Riverton, pleaded guilty last August to first-degree aggravated sexual assault and child endangerment, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw. Forrester was sentenced on Feb. 26 in the Supreme Court in Mount Holly, the prosecutor said, adding he must serve the entire term before becoming eligible for release. The assaults occurred several years ago on more than one victim. Deta…
Police & Fire
NJ Coach Charged With Sexually Assaulting Second Child
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A North Jersey youth strength and conditioning coach who’s already awaiting trial first for a double-fatal car crash in Lodi and then for repeated sex assaults of a child is back in jail. Donald Kumar Davis, 33, of Lyndhurst was charged by detectives with sexually assaulting a second child, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced on Monday, March, 4. Davis -- formerly of Nutley -- was previously accused of killing a retired Albanian police chief and a Garfield Walmart manager when he slammed his 2015 Dodge Charger into their car as the immigrant couple as they emerged from t…
Police & Fire
Teacher Accused Of Molesting Girl In South Jersey Dies Weeks Before Trial
A South Jersey teacher accused of molesting a 12-year-old student in 2020 has died just weeks before his trial, according to an obituary published by Farnelli Funeral Home. Paul A. VanHouten Jr., 57, of Williamstown, died on Thursday, Feb. 22. A cause of death was not mentioned in the obit. The story was first reported by NJ Advance Media. His attorney, Robert N. Agre, was in court and unavailable for comment when Daily Voice reached out Monday, Feb. 26. A trial for VanHouten was set to begin on March 4 on charges of second-degree sexual assault, child endangerment and official miscon…
Police & Fire
Shocker
: NJ Teacher Had Sex With Student Starting At 15 In School, Car, House: Authorities
A married teacher had intercourse as part of a years-long sexual relationship with a former Garfield Middle School student beginning when the youngster was 15, including several times in a car -- and even at the school, authorities charged. Amy Impero D'Ovidio, a 46-year-old Bergen County native, had worked for the Garfield Board of Education when the alleged encounters began, they said. She was 35 at the time. Locations included “within the Garfield Middle School, at a private residence in Cedar Grove, as well as within a vehicle at unknown locations in Bergen, Essex, and Passaic counties…
Police & Fire
Female Business Owner Brutally Attacked By Man In South Jersey: Police
A female business owner in Atlantic County was brutally attacked by a man who tried to sexually assault her, authorities said. Dashawn Cooper, 37, of Pleasantville was arrested on Monday, Feb. 19, the Absecon Police Department said in a news release. Officers responded to a 911 call from a store in the downtown business district at around 3:30 p.m. Investigators said Cooper entered the business and attacked the store owner unprovoked. Police also said Cooper did not know the woman. The victim escaped to another nearby business but Cooper followed her inside and locked the door. He then "la…
Police & Fire
Salem County Man Indicted For Sexually Assaulting 12-Year-Old Girl Is Still At Large
A Salem County grand jury has indicted a Pittsgrove man for allegedly sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl, authorities said. Emeterio Alavez-Cruz, 33, is accused of attacking the girl in June 2021, according to prior news accounts. New Jersey State Police issued a call for public assistance in locating Alavez-Cruz, who was known to have connections to Rio Grande, Wildwood, Bridgeton, Penns Grove and New Castle, Delaware. Alavez-Cruz is described as a Hispanic, about 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the Stat…
Police & Fire
Update
: NJ Lyft Driver Gets 7 Years For Fondling Pre-Teen Passenger Separate Times
A former U.S. military member from Morris County who was convicted of sexually assaulting a Passaic County pre-teen while working as a Lyft driver was sentenced to seven years in state prison. Julio Mejia, 43, of Wharton also must register as a sex offender and remain under lifetime parole supervision, under the sentence handed down by Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Portelli in Paterson. Mejia rejected a plea deal after investigators said the underage Prospect Park girl told them he had sex with her after she took a Lyft ride in August 2019 and then again after several weeks of texting. He…
Police & Fire
Cumberland County Coach Indicted For Sexually Assaulting Two Teenage Boys: Prosecutor
A youth sports coach from Cumberland County has been indicted on charges that he sexually assaulted two teenage boys, authorities said. Robert R. Marino, 73, of Bridgeton, was arrested on July 3, 2023, on charges related to an alleged incident involving a 16-year-old boy, they said. A grand jury indicted Marino on Jan. 24, according to Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae. A month after being charged in the first case, a second man claimed Marino sexually assaulted him for several years during the 1990s when he was a teenager and Marine was his coach, the prosecutor previ…
Police & Fire
Female Substitute Teacher Sexually Assaulted Teen Girl In South Jersey: Prosecutor
A 27-year-old substitute teacher from Burlington County has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl in Camden County, authorities said. Rebecca Coddington, of Browns Mills, sexually assaulted the girl multiple times between September 2019 and December 2023 at a home in Gloucester Township, according to Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay. Coddington is a substitute teacher in the Runnemede Public School District, but no allegations have been brought forward involving students, MacAulay said. Coddington was arrested in Gloucester Township on Feb. 5 by t…
Police & Fire
Seen
HIM? Retired Jersey Shore Corrections Officer In Child Sex Trafficking Case Now A Fugitive
New Jersey authorities turned to the public for help Tuesday finding a retired New Jersey corrections officer who fled before he was stand to trial on charges of paying for sex with a trafficked minor. Kurt Young, 56, of South Dennis Township, was briefly jailed before being released following his arrest on Jan. 28, 2020, records show. Two co-defendants took pleas and got 15 to 20 years in state prison in exchange. Meanwhile, Young -- who investigators said was positively identified by the 14-year-old victim -- skipped out during jury selection for his trial in Cape May County las…
Sports
NJ Devils Players, Flyers Goalie Charged With Sex Assault: Legal Reps
The two New Jersey Devils players and the Philadelphia Flyers goalie who took leaves of absences last week have all been charged with sexual assault in London, Ontario, Daily Voice has learned Devils forward Michael McLeod, defenseman Cal Foote, and Flyers goalie Carter Hart — all members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team — requested leaves the same day that The Globe and Mail released a report saying police in Canada called for the surrender of five players from the 2018 Canadian World Junior team in connection with a sex assault investigation. All three were on the team. Seth W…
News
NJ Man Trying To Meet PA Middle Schooler Gets Prison Time, DA Says
A New Jersey man will spend up to a dozen years in a Pennsylvania state prison after authorities say he tried to meet with a middle schooler for sex. Steven Boutte, 53, of Burlington, was convicted in December for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, criminal attempt to commit statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, and related counts, said the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. Investigators said Boutte began a conversation with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl on a dating app in December 2022. He engaged in a "very sexual…
Police & Fire
Cumberland County Man, 64, Found Guilty Of Sexually Assaulting 4-Year-Old Girl: Prosecutor
A 64-year-old man from Millville has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl, authorities said. Marvin Stidham was convicted by a Cumberland County jury on Thursday, Jan. 25 of second-degree sexual assault and third-degree child endangerment, according to county Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae. Stidham was acquitted on a charge of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, she said. The State presented evidence that Stidham engaged in sexual contact with a four-year-old girl in Commercial Township from June 1, 2021 to Nov. 11, 2021, Webb-McRae said. T…
Sports
NJ Devils Players' Leaves Of Absence Tied To 2018 Sex Assault Investigation?
Two New Jersey Devils players and one member of the Philadelphia Flyers have been granted leaves of absence the same day that The Globe and Mail released a report saying police in Canada called for the surrender of five players from the 2018 Canadian World Junior team in connection with a sex assault investigation. Devils forward Michael McLeod, defenseman Cal Foote, and Flyers goalie Carter Hart — all members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team — have been granted a leave of absence. The Devils said only that McLeod and Foote were requested and granted an indefinit…
Police & Fire
Philly Ex-Con Forced Captive Girls Into Prostitution At NJ Hotels: Indictment
An ex-con who was captured after a 15-year-old victim escaped from a South Jersey hotel room was indicted on a host of charges that include human trafficking, promoting prostitution and sexually assaulting minors, authorities announced on Thursday. Nieem Johnson, 40, whose last known address was in Philadelphia, was arrested in Atlantic City last Aug. 31 following a months-long state investigation, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. A second victim was rescued during the arrest, Platkin said in a Jan. 18 release. “The allegations in the indictment – holding two victims in a…
Obituaries
'Champion For Women's Empowerment:' NJ Mom Theresa Hester Dies At 55
Support is pouring in for the family of Morris County native Margaret ‘Theresa’ (Nunn) Hester, a devoted public servant and beloved mother who died on Monday, Dec. 11 following a brief battle with cancer at the age of 55. Born in Morristown, Theresa graduated from Dover High School in 1986 before attending Centenary University, her obituary says. Theresa dedicated her career to uplifting women and families in many different capacities. She worked for the NJ state Division on Women since 1998, both with the Department of Community Affairs and the Department of Children and Families. Her wor…
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