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Jafa McAllister was among three robbers who forced their way into the victim's home on the 300 block of Liberty Street in Plainfield, and woke her up in the early-morning hours of Nov. 28, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel and Acting Plainfield Police Director Captain David Guarino said.
The men were armed and demanding money, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Tina Fay, who is prosecuting the case.
Over the course of several hours, McAllister and two yet-unidentified intruders held the woman and her three children captive in their home, authorities said. During the attack, the adult victim was sexually assaulted at knife-point.
The three men then forced the victims into their own car and drove them to Newark, where they were held for several hours before escaping when the assailants got out of the vehicle, Fay stated.
The exhaustive investigation, assisted by the Union County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit and the New Jersey State Police, resulted in McAllister’s identification and arrest on the morning of Dec. 28.
He was charged with four counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, three counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, four counts of third-degree terroristic threats, one count each of first-degree robbery, second-degree burglary, and third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact, and three related third and fourth-degree weapons charges.
McAllister was currently being held in the Essex County Jail pending a first appearance.
This matter remains under active investigation, and anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit Sergeant Janet Lopez at 908-347-8491, Detective Jennifer Smith at 908-759-8254, or Plainfield Police Department Detective Chanel Johnson at 732-343-0718.
Tips can also be submitted anonymously by phone at 908-654-TIPS (8477) or online at www.uctip.org; submission of tips made in this fashion that result in an indictment and conviction can be eligible for a reward of up to $10,000 via the Union County Crime Stoppers.
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