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Henry C. Cirignano, 48, of Wall Township also was accused of making false representations to the court about the woman who was on probation, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Cirignano was an 18-year veteran of the New Jersey State Probation Department in the Vicinage of Monmouth, Gramiccioni said.
Cirignano threatened to create false probation violations that would have resulted in jail time unless the victim provided sexual favors to him, Gramiccioni said.
He was sentenced by Ocean County Presiding Criminal Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels in Toms River on Thursday afternoon. As part of his sentence, Cirignano must serve 6 years, 9 months and 20 days before becoming eligible for parole, the prosecutor said.
He also will be subject to parole supervision for life, be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, and faces a lifetime ban on public employment in New Jersey, as well as forfeiture of his public benefits, Gramiccioni said.
Cirignano previously pleaded guilty last February to three counts of second degree sexual assault by coercion, and one count of second degree official misconduct, Gramiccioni said.
Cirignano was arrested in February 2019 and charged with the sexual assault of a 23-year-old woman he supervised on Drug Court probation. An investigation found that between August 2016 and January 2019, Cirignano engaged in sexual activity with the female probationer while she was under his supervision, according to Gramiccioni.
Cirignano’s sexual assaults upon the victim were frequent and repetitive, the prosecutor said. Cirignano also repeatedly lied to the Drug Court judge presiding over his victim’s case providing false excuses for the victim’s failure to appear in court, he said.
“Cirignano’s actions represent the worst type of predatory behavior,” Gramiccioni said. “He trampled upon the oath he took as a public servant, and abused his power by forcing the victim to provide sexual favors, extorting her with threats of incarceration if she refused. Thankfully, he will serve a significant jail sentence, be registered as a sex offender and never hold a public job again.”
Cirignano was being held in the Ocean County Correctional Institution. The case was handled by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Thomas Fichter and Kristen Anastos.
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