Overcast 69°
News
NJ Amtrak Employee Lied To Feds Investigating Sleeper Car Sex Assault, DOJ Says NJ Amtrak Employee Lied To Feds Investigating Sleeper Car Sex Assault, DOJ Says
NJ Amtrak Employee Lied To Feds Investigating Sleeper Car Sex Assault, DOJ Says An Amtrak employee from New Jersey has been charged in a federal indictment for lying to federal investigators questioning him about a sexual assault he allegedly carried out on a passenger during a trip from Washington DC to Chicago, authorities said. Maurice Driver, 35, of Gloucester City, NJ, was charged with lying to a federal agent in a five-count indictment unsealed on Tuesday, June 4, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Special Agent in Charge Mike Waters of the Amtrak Office of Inspector General Eastern Area Field Office announced. Driver had been working as a lead service atte…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
South Jersey Registered Sex Offender Who Sexually Abused 13-Year-Old Sentenced: Prosecutors South Jersey Registered Sex Offender Who Sexually Abused 13-Year-Old Sentenced: Prosecutors
South Jersey Registered Sex Offender Who Sexually Abused 13-Year-Old Sentenced: Prosecutors A registered sex offender in Atlantic County will spend more than a decade in prison for sexually assaulting a child, authorities said. Marcelino Cruz, 35, of Mullica Township, was sentenced on Tuesday, June 4 to 16 years in state prison, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release. A jury found him guilty on Wednesday, Feb. 7 of second-degree sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and possession of child sexual abuse material. An investigation began when a 13-year-old's mother found disturbing text messages on the child's phone. Police co…

SHARE

by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Special Education Teacher Sexually Touched 14 Students In South Jersey: Prosecutor Special Education Teacher Sexually Touched 14 Students In South Jersey: Prosecutor
Special Education Teacher Sexually Touched 14 Students In South Jersey: Prosecutor A special education teacher who was charged last year with sexually touching seven children has been charged with touching an additional seven students, authorities said. Vincent Root, 59, of Philadelphia, a teacher at Chatsworth Elementary School, has been charged with 14 counts of sexual assault and 14 counts of child endangerment, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw The investigation began in September 2023 after a student accused Root of touching him inappropriately during previous school years, the prosecutor said. The investigation revealed that the victi…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
NJ Man Convicted Of Raping 12-Year-Old Girl He Met Online, Prosecutors Say NJ Man Convicted Of Raping 12-Year-Old Girl He Met Online, Prosecutors Say
NJ Man Convicted Of Raping 12-Year-Old Girl He Met Online, Prosecutors Say A 22-year-old Piscataway man was convicted on Tuesday, May 14 of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl he'd met online in 2021, authorities said. In July 2021, a 12-year-old girl said she was sexually assaulted in Bound Brook by Lenic Galvan, a man she met on social media, Somerset County Prosecutor John  McDonald said. Galvan arranged for transportation for the girl before he sexually assaulted her, authorities said. Following an investigation and DNA test, Galvan was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and was convicted of sexual assault by contact and endangering th…

SHARE

by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Ax-Wielding Man Who Forced Ex-GF Into Sex Heads To NJ State Slammer, Prosecutor Says Ax-Wielding Man Who Forced Ex-GF Into Sex Heads To NJ State Slammer, Prosecutor Says
Ax-Wielding Man Who Forced Ex-GF Into Sex Heads To NJ State Slammer, Prosecutor Says A hatchet-wielding 50-year-old man who forced an ex-girlfriend to have sex was sentenced to 25 years in New Jersey State Prison, authorities said. Julio Sigurani, Jr., of Deerfield, was sentenced on Monday, May 13, according to Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-Mcrae. Sigurani was convicted at a trial of sexual assault and kidnapping, Webb-McRae said. The charges stemmed from a sexual assault that occurred on Aug. 13, 2020, in Deerfield. The defendant and victim had previously been in a relationship, the prosecutor said. Shortly after midnight, Sigurani entered the victi…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Former NJ Middle School Teacher Sexually Assaulted Student: Prosecutor Former NJ Middle School Teacher Sexually Assaulted Student: Prosecutor
Former NJ Middle School Teacher Sexually Assaulted Student: Prosecutor A 32-year-old former teacher from North Bergen has been charged with sexually assaulting a student at Carteret Middle School, authorities said. Jeffrey Munguia was also charged on Wednesday, April 24 with endangering the welfare of a child, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Carterest Police Chief Dennis McFadden.  The investigation revealed that Munguia was the victim’s teacher at Carteret Middle School when the incident occurred in 2022, they said. He was arrested without incident on Wednesday. The investigation is active and continuing. An…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Sentenced For Home Invasion, Sexually Assaulting Woman In Asbury Park: Prosecutors Ex-Con Sentenced For Home Invasion, Sexually Assaulting Woman In Asbury Park: Prosecutors
Shawn Connolly Of Asbury Park Sentenced An Asbury Park ex-convict will spend more than three decades in prison after he was convicted of a home invasion and sexual assault, authorities said. 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. Investigat…

SHARE

by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Camden County Man Convicted In Decade-Old Central Jersey Rape Case Camden County Man Convicted In Decade-Old Central Jersey Rape Case
Camden County Man Convicted In Decade-Old Central Jersey Rape Case A 40-year-old man from Camden County has been convicted for rape during a home invasion break-in nearly 10 years ago, authorities said. Danny McEaddy, of Sicklerville, was found guilty by a jury on Thursday, April 18, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone. On Sept. 21, 2014, a female reported being sexually assaulted by an unknown male who had unlawfully forced his way into her apartment in the Keasbey section of Woodbridge Township.  Based on the DNA analysis of biological samples found at the crime scene, McEaddy was identified as the man who s…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial
NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial A Mercer County high school teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student several times at a Monmouth County wildlife preserve was released from jail to await her trial, authorities said. A judge denied a request on Wednesday, Apr. 17 to keep 37-year-old Jessica Sawicki of Point Pleasant Beach in jail through her trial, a Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson said. She was charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault and five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Sawicki was arrested on Monday, Apr. 8, according to an affidavit obtai…

SHARE

by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
NJ Teacher Admits Having Unprotected Sex With Student 5X Or More: Affidavit NJ Teacher Admits Having Unprotected Sex With Student 5X Or More: Affidavit
Jessica Sawicki Arrest A Mercer County high school teacher admitted to sexually assaulting a student multiple times times in a vehicle at a Monmouth County wildlife preserve, according to police paperwork obtained by Daily Voice. Jessica Sawicki, 37, of Point Pleasant, was arrested on Monday, Apr. 8, and charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault and five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. New Jersey Fish and Wildlife officers found Sawicki and the victim "in states of undress" in the back of the victim's car at Assunpink Wildlife Management Area in Upper…

SHARE

by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
South Jersey Corrections Officer Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting Girl Under 13 Years Old South Jersey Corrections Officer Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting Girl Under 13 Years Old
South Jersey Corrections Officer Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting Girl Under 13 Years Old A Cape May County corrections officer was convicted of sexually assaulting a girl younger than 13 years old, authorities said. A jury found 34-year-old Jonathan Perez guilty on four charges on Friday, Apr. 12, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland said in a news release. He was charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault of a minor, second-degree sexual assault, and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. The trial began on Monday, Mar. 18, more than a year after he was arrested. The girl reported the abuse "over an extended period of time" to st…

SHARE

by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Man Accused Of Trying To Abduct Girl In South Jersey Crime Spree To Remain In Jail Man Accused Of Trying To Abduct Girl In South Jersey Crime Spree To Remain In Jail
Man Accused Of Trying To Abduct Girl In South Jersey Crime Spree To Remain In Jail A Monmouth County man will remain in jail after he was accused of trying to kidnap a teen girl and groping a woman in a Target parking lot during a two-county crime spree, authorities said. Quamel Benton, 35, of Farmingdale, was ordered by a judge on Wednesday, Apr. 10 to remain in Burlington County Jail through his trial, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. He was charged in Ocean County with attempted kidnapping, luring, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal sexual contact, two counts of eluding, resisting arrest, and obstruction. L…

SHARE

by Chris Spiker