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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.
Investigators said shortly before police arrived, a man and a woman woke up to Connolly in their bedroom, threatening to hurt them with a knife. He entered the home through the kitchen window.
During the robbery, Connolly sexually assaulted the woman after he told the man to leave the room to get cash. While he left, the man called 911 and left the phone line open.
Connolly was indicted in November 2021 and his case went to trial in September 2023. After a two-week trial, the jury found him guilty of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, first-degree armed robbery, second-degree burglary, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree making terroristic threats, and three weapons charges.
According to state Department of Corrections records, Connolly was released from state prison on parole in May 2021. He had previously been convicted of sexual assault in Monmouth County back in June 2006.
Connolly will also have to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law and he'll have parole supervision for life.
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