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Suspended Manville Police Chief Thomas Herbst continued a pattern of “sexually predatory behavior targeting multiple women over many years,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in announcing the charges on Wednesday, April 12.
One victim who worked for the department was sexually assaulted by Herbst both at headquarters and at her home, the attorney general said.
Former Howell Township Police Chief Andrew Kudrick, meanwhile, “had an extramarital affair and took steps to conceal it,” Platkin said.
Kudrick lied to township officials about the affair and “threatened to launch an improper internal affairs investigation” of a captain who called him on it, the attorney general said.
Both men, Platkin said, “preyed on those less powerful than they are and tried to cover it up.”
Their female victims, in turn, were “under enormous pressure to remain silent” and were “forced to live in fear of the men who are there to protect them,” he said.
Hebst and Kudrick “misused their rank and power for personal benefit,” said Thomas Eichler, the executive director of Platkin’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, which is heading the investigations of both men.
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Herbst, 55, of Bridgewater, “regularly groped, exposed himself to and sexually assaulted” two department employees, Platkin said.
He also ordered one of them at one point to wear skirts and “accused her of disobeying orders” when she resisted his sexual advances, the attorney general said.
The woman was so terrified that she tried to make it appear that she wasn’t home when she was off duty – locking her doors, drawing her blinds and putting her car in a garage, Platkin said.
Herbst was placed on leave after the female employee filed a lawsuit accusing him of repeatedly sexually assaulting her at headquarters and raping her at her home and in a hotel parking lot during lunch,
It was all part of a “prolonged pattern and practice of abhorrent sexual harassment” from 2008 to 2021, Platkin said.
In one instance, he said, Herbst “called the victim into his office and told her he would allow her to leave work early. He then stood next to the chair in which she was sitting in a way that prevented her from getting out.
“He then removed his penis from his pants, masturbated, and ejaculated into her hair and onto her clothing," the attorney general said. "He told her he was sorry and directed her to go home.”
Herbst – who’d been with the Manville force for 30 years and became chief in October 2020 -- also solicited sexual favors from the wife of one of his subordinates, saying it would help the officer’s career.
“In one instance, the defendant texted his subordinate demanding oral sex from the employee’s wife in exchange for a promotion,” Platin said.
State authorities charged Herbst with sexual assault, official misconduct and criminal sexual contact.
Kudrick, meanwhile, was charged with official misconduct, false swearing, tampering with public records, tampering with and retaliating against witnesses and obstructing the administration of law.
A confrontation between the chief’s wife and his alleged mistress during a 2021 retirement party “raised suspicions about the possible existence of the improper relationship,” Platkin said.
Township officials hired a special labor counsel to conduct an internal investigation out of concerns over possible liability for sexual harassment and/or the potential for a hostile work environment, he said.
Howell Township has an anti-fraternization policy prohibiting romantic relationships with subordinates, the attorney general noted.
A captain who knew about the affair was scheduled to testify before township officials, but Kudrick threatened him “in order to intimidate [him] from truthfully cooperating in the special labor investigator’s probe," Platkin said.
In each case, it "took extraordinary courage for the women to come forward,” the attorney general said, given that the public could doubt their stories and “question the pain they endured.”
“I regret that these women had to endure these actions,” he added, “but I am proud to say that today we stand with [them].
“Most officers and command staff are not only admirable and outstanding – they are dedicated to their communities,” Platkin said.
Part of his role as the state’s chief law enforcer, he said, is to protect not only the public but also the upstanding officers by removing and punishing the bad apples.
“Letting such conduct go unchecked would be a miscarriage of justice for these women, but also for every female officer and public employee who feels unsafe in an environment where predatory sexual misconduct is normalized or condoned,” Platkin said.
State authorities, he vowed, will “root out corruption and misconduct by public servants no matter where it occurs.”
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