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Police & Fire
Trenton Man, 44, Touched Child Inappropriately At Hamilton Religious Event, Police Say Trenton Man, 44, Touched Child Inappropriately At Hamilton Religious Event, Police Say
Trenton Man, 44, Touched Child Inappropriately At Hamilton Religious Event, Police Say A 44-year-old Trenton man was charged on accusations that he touched a child inappropriately at a recent religious event in Hamilton, authorities said. Manuel Soto was charged with criminal sexual contact and child endangerment, according to a release from the Hamilton Police Division. The charges come as the result of an investigation into a Hamilton religious event on Friday, March 18, where Soto touched a child inappropriately, the release said. The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Kevin Krall at (609) 689-5826, send an email to kkra…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Man Convicted Of Raping Woman After 1st Date On Jersey Shore Beach, Authorities Say Man Convicted Of Raping Woman After 1st Date On Jersey Shore Beach, Authorities Say
Man Convicted Of Raping Woman After 1st Date On Jersey Shore Beach, Authorities Say A Monmouth County jury has found a Hudson County man guilty of raping a woman after their first date at a Jersey Shore beach, authorities said Kawami R. Junor, 28, of Bayonne, was convicted on all charges, including sexual assault, criminal restraint and criminal sexual contact, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey. Junor was additionally found guilty of assault by auto, a disorderly persons offense, by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley following the verdict.  Junor is scheduled to be sentenced on May 6. On …

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Gospel Singer Performs Sex Act On Man As Part Of 'Physical Exam' For NJTransit Job: Prosecutor Gospel Singer Performs Sex Act On Man As Part Of 'Physical Exam' For NJTransit Job: Prosecutor
Gospel Singer Performs Sex Act On Man As Part Of 'Physical Exam' For NJTransit Job: Prosecutor A 75-year-old gospel singer was arrested for performing a sex act on a man after telling him it was part of a physical examination for a job with NJTransit, authorities said. Albert J. Lewis, Jr. instructed the 41-year-old Congolese national to come to his Newark home so that he could get more information from him for the job in January 2022, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said. The victim arrived Lewis' home, where the gospel singer had him disrobe as part of a physical examination to make sure he was fit for the job, Stephens said. That's when Lewis proceeded to …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Police: Enraged Fairview Mom Restrained From Attacking Homeless Man Who Fondled Daughter, 13 Police: Enraged Fairview Mom Restrained From Attacking Homeless Man Who Fondled Daughter, 13
Police: Enraged Fairview Mom Restrained From Attacking Homeless Man Who Fondled Daughter, 13 A furious mom had to be restrained after she went after a homeless man who Fairview police said fondled her 13-year-old daughter on the street. The pair were walking past a restaurant on Anderson Avenue near Walker Street when Mario Camey “cupped” the girl’s butt around 10 a.m. Saturday, Police Chief Martin Kahn said. The mother confronted the 45-year-old Guatemalan national, who laughed and said her daughter was “very pretty,” the chief said. A bystander jumped in and separated them, then told the 5-foot-2-inch, 130-pound Camey to go into the restaurant, after the mother tried to get at h…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Garfield Man, 71, Charged With Sexual Contact With Teen Garfield Man, 71, Charged With Sexual Contact With Teen
Garfield Man, 71, Charged With Sexual Contact With Teen A 71-year-old Garfield man was jailed on charges of having sexual contact with an underage minor. Authorities didn’t specify the “inappropriate sexual conduct” alleged against Mikulas “Mickey” Banacky, who Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said is married and unemployed. He did say it involved “a child under the age of sixteen in Garfield.” Banacky, a Czech immigrant who lives on Gaston Avenue, had a prior arrest on his record. He spent nearly two months in the Bergen County Jail in 2014 after being charged with simple assault and making threats, records show. This time he was charged…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Landlord Faces Sex Crimes Against 7 More Tenants, Total Climbs To 20 NJ Landlord Faces Sex Crimes Against 7 More Tenants, Total Climbs To 20
NJ Landlord Faces Sex Crimes Against 7 More Tenants, Total Climbs To 20 A New Jersey landlord federally accused of demanding sexual favors from tenants in exchange for rent relief is facing additional charges against seven new alleged victims, bringing the total to 20, authorities said Thursday. Joseph Centanni was charged with five additional counts of second-degree sexual assault and seven additional counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, Acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo and Elizabeth Police Department Chief Giacomo Sacca and Director Earl Graves said. The 74-year-old Mountainside resident -- who owns hundreds of residential rental …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
NJ BAIL REFORM: Released Twice In Two Weeks, Ridgefield Park Man Gropes Woman, Police Charge NJ BAIL REFORM: Released Twice In Two Weeks, Ridgefield Park Man Gropes Woman, Police Charge
NJ Bail Reform: Released Twice In Two Weeks, Ridgefield Park Man Gropes Woman, Police Charge A repeat offender wanted for groping a local woman may have been ready to strike again when a Ridgefield Park police officer grabbed him, authorities said. It became the third time that Michael Hernandez, 22, had been arrested in Bergen County in a little over a month -- as well as the third time that police ended up seeing him released. The first time, they were required to release Hernandez under New Jersey's bail reform law after they said they caught him breaking into cars on May 16. SEE: Detective Work Produces Ridgefield Park Vehicle Burglary Arrest Ten days later (May 26), Hernande…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Driving School Instructor Charged With Sexually Assaulting Students NJ Driving School Instructor Charged With Sexually Assaulting Students
NJ Driving School Instructor Charged With Sexually Assaulting Students A 59-year-old Somerset County ex-driving school instructor was arrested for sexually assaulting two driving students during sessions, authorities said. Steven Collucci, who previously worked for Dill's Driving School, is accused of sexually assaulting two 16-year-old alleged victims, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson said. The first alleged victim reported being touched in a sexual manner by Collucci, of Somerville, while driving in the Bridgewater and Hillsborough area in June 2017, Robertson said. Then, in January 2021, a second individual reported being touched s…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
Ex-Teacher, Wrestling Coach Indicted For Criminal Sexual Contact Worked At Dozens Of NJ Schools Ex-Teacher, Wrestling Coach Indicted For Criminal Sexual Contact Worked At Dozens Of NJ Schools
Ex-Teacher, Wrestling Coach Indicted For Criminal Sexual Contact Worked At Dozens Of NJ Schools A former special education teacher and college wrestling coach who worked for dozens of New Jersey schools and youth programs has been indicted for endangering the welfare of a minor, filming/possession of child exploitive material, and criminal sexual contact, authorities said.  John M. Denuto, 44, of Spotswood, was indicted on more than two dozen counts of charges relating to child endangerment, invasion of privacy, possession of child pornography witness tampering and more, according to Middlesex County Yolanda Ciccone and Chief John Zebrowski of the Sayrevil…

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by Jon Craig
News
Authorities: Sitter From Paterson, 33, Fondles Wayne Kid After Sharing Booze, Pot Authorities: Sitter From Paterson, 33, Fondles Wayne Kid After Sharing Booze, Pot
Authorities: Sitter From Paterson, 33, Fondles Wayne Kid After Sharing Booze, Pot A 33-year-old Paterson man babysitting on New Year’s Eve gave booze and pot to a 13-year-old Wayne youngster before fondling the underage teen, authorities charged. Joseph Montgomery was arrested last Wednesday, but Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Wayne Police Chief Jack McNiff didn’t announce it until Monday. In a joint release, Valdes and McNiff said Wayne police responded to the home on Jan. 2 on a report of the child being “inappropriately touched” by Montgomery. Detectives from the prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit and Wayne Police Department spoke with the alleged vic…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Middlesex Man, 20, Arrested For Inappropriate Sexual Contact Middlesex Man, 20, Arrested For Inappropriate Sexual Contact
Middlesex Man, 20, Arrested For Inappropriate Sexual Contact A 20-year-old man from Central Jersey has been arrested for criminal sexual contact, authorities said. Dandre Burrell of New Brunswick was charged with improperly touching a woman, according to  Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Director Anthony A. Caputo of the New Brunswick Police Department. Last Wednesday, Burrell was charged with one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, Ciccone and Caputo said. On Monday, Burrell was jailed in the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center pending a trial after a detention hearing before Superior …

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Ex-Toms River School Worker Who 'Robbed Innocence Of Kids' Gets 30 Years For Sex Crimes Ex-Toms River School Worker Who 'Robbed Innocence Of Kids' Gets 30 Years For Sex Crimes
Ex-Toms River School Worker Who 'Robbed Innocence Of Kids' Gets 30 Years For Sex Crimes A retired Toms River Regional school district employee has been sentenced to 30 years in state prison for sex crimes against two children, authorities said. William J. Herflicker, III, 57, was sentenced on Monday for crimes committed between 2005 and 2010, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. Herflicker was convicted on Jan. 22 after a jury trial, the prosecutor said. Herflicker was found guilty of two counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault, Billhimer said. Superior Court Judge Rochelle Gizinski sentenced Herflicker to 15 years in state prison on each count to…

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by Jon Craig