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A grand jury returned two separate indictments against Shawn Midgette, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina.
Both indictments charge him with aggravated sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, and several other assault and weapons charges, the prosecutor said.
Midgette is expected to be arraigned in Superior Court in Mount Holly, Coffina said on Wednesday.
An investigation began July 24, 2020, after an elderly woman was sexually assaulted in her vehicle by a man who asked for a ride as she left a pharmacy in the 100 block of Springside Road in Westampton, Coffina said.
The suspect forced her to drive to the Garfield East section of Willingboro, where he assaulted her and took cash from her purse before fleeing on foot, Coffina said.
Midgette was identified as a suspect, and patrol units in Willingboro, Mount Holly and Westampton began an active search for him, Coffina said.
An alert was issued to law enforcement agencies in Burlington and neighboring counties, and investigators began checking area homeless shelters to determine where the suspect may have been staying.
On July 25, 2020, Mount Holly police were contacted by a homeless woman who said she was threatened with a knife and sexually assaulted in Monroe Park. The victim told police that she knew Midgette, Coffina said.
Midgette was taken into custody two days later by Willingboro police at a McDonald’s restaurant on Beverly Rancocas Road, Coffina said. Midgette allegedly was carrying the knife believed to be used during the assaults, the prosecutor said.
Lead investigators were Willingboro Detective Elijah Hart, Mount Holly Detective Nicholas Dell-Priscoli and BCPO Detective Sgt. Tony Luyber.
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