Bergen County Pastor Repeatedly Performed Sex Acts On Child: Criminal Complaint Bergen County Pastor Repeatedly Performed Sex Acts On Child: Criminal Complaint
Bergen County Pastor Repeatedly Performed Sex Acts On Child: Criminal Complaint A 74-year-old Paramus church pastor has been arrested and charged with 21 counts of sexual offenses for disturbing sexual assaults on a girl between ages 13 and 18 for years, authorities announced Friday, July 12. Stephen E. Sweet, the pastor at Grace's Lutheran Church in River Edge, became the center of an investigation on Thursday, July 11, on a tip that he'd sexually assaulted a juvenile in the past, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. ** WARNING: The following news article contains graphic and disturbing information. Reader discretion is advised ** Sweet sexually assaulted…
Suspect In Custody For Dollar Tree Sexual Assault In Philly: Police (UPDATED) Suspect In Custody For Dollar Tree Sexual Assault In Philly: Police (UPDATED)
Suspect In Custody For Dollar Tree Sexual Assault In Philly: Police (Updated) A suspect surrendered to police in connection with a sexual assault in Philadelphia last month, authorities say. Gary A. Miles, 35, is charged with indecent assault, indecent exposure, open lewdness, and harassment, said city police on Thursday morning, July 11.  A woman was attacked at the 56 E. Snyder Avenue Dollar Tree on June 23, PPD said previously. Store employees told police the suspect frequented Snyder Pizza and the nearby I-95 underpass, where he may park a vehicle, authorities said.  "Additional updates, including charges and a mugshot, will be provided once charg…
PA Jehovah's Witness Member Sentenced For Sexually Assaulting Girl While She Slept: AG PA Jehovah's Witness Member Sentenced For Sexually Assaulting Girl While She Slept: AG
PA Jehovah's Witness Member Sentenced For Sexually Assaulting Girl While She Slept: AG A 56-year-old Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to prison for sexual assault of a girl that began more than 20 years ago, officials said. Luis Manuel Ayala-Velasquez, 56, of Reading, was arrested last year after a grand jury investigation where sexual assault charges were recommended against more than a dozen members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith, Attorney General Michelle Henry said. Ayala-Velasquez will serve 14 to 46 years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to five felony counts, including rape of an unconscious person, Henry said. He was sentenced Wednesday…
Special Education Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student, Monmouth Prosecutor Says Special Education Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student, Monmouth Prosecutor Says
Special Education Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student, Monmouth Prosecutor Says A special education teacher in Monmouth County was accused of sexually assaulting a student, authorities said. Allison Havemann-Niedrach, 43, of Jackson Township, was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced her arrest in a news release on Saturday, June 29.  Prosecutors said Havemann-Niedrach is a teacher at Freehold Intermediate School and according to her LinkedIn profile, she teaches special education in the borough's district. He…
HS Band Director Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting Student: Pennsylvania AG HS Band Director Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting Student: Pennsylvania AG
HS Band Director Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting Student: Pennsylvania AG A former school employee in Wilkes Barre was convicted of groping a student on Friday, June 28, said the state Attorney General's Office in a release.  Theron Roberts, the 41-year-old ex-band director at Crestwood High School in Mountain Top, was found guilty of felony institutional sexual assault and corruption of minors, prosecutors said.  According to authorities, Roberts groped a tenth-grade student after pulling them into a "secluded alcove" and threatened her not to report the incident.  The AG's Office said he met the victim three years earlier when they were in …
PA Man Kidnapped Four 'Females,' Held Them In Shipping Container: State Police PA Man Kidnapped Four 'Females,' Held Them In Shipping Container: State Police
PA Man Kidnapped Four 'Females,' Held Them In Shipping Container: State Police Four women were abducted, threatened with weapons, and sexually assaulted in a shipping container in the Poconos this week, according to state troopers.  Police said they received a phone call about a possible kidnapping involving a Ford SUV around 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday. They tracked the vehicle down at the Mount Pocono Walmart and found one victim with suspect Isaiah Rogers-Keeney, troopers said. Another victim was spotted leaving the store with a second suspect, Davaun Carlon Jackson, according to authorities.  Investigators believe Jackson and Rogers-Keeney…
NJ Restaurant Owner Preyed On Job Applicant, Sexually Assaulted Others, Authorities Say NJ Restaurant Owner Preyed On Job Applicant, Sexually Assaulted Others, Authorities Say
NJ Restaurant Owner Preyed On Job Applicant, Sexually Assaulted Others, Authorities Say The owner of three restaurants in Trenton has been arrested for multiple sexual assaults including a job applicant, authorities said. Gerald Araya, 44, of Ewing, was arrested in Trenton on Wednesday, June 19, according to Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri, Lawrence Township Police Chief Christopher Longo and Trenton Police Director Steve Wilson.  He is charged with five counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, one count of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of second-degree sexual assault, one count of first-degree kidnapping, two counts o…
9-Year-Old Found Strangled In Bristol Church, Tips Sought 62 Years Later 9-Year-Old Found Strangled In Bristol Church, Tips Sought 62 Years Later
9-Year-Old Found Strangled In Bristol Church, Tips Sought 62 Years Later Pennsylvania State Police investigators are seeking tips in a 9-year-old girl's cold case murder.  Carol Ann Dougherty was found dead inside St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church in Bristol Borough on Oct. 22, 1962. She was strangled and had been sexually assaulted, according to troopers.  Police said Dougherty had stopped at the church while riding her bike to the library. She had stopped there to say a prayer, according to a report in the Bristol Courier-Times the day after her murder.  Then-Bristol Police Chief Vincent Faragalli called her killing "one of the most br…
Lititz Man Accused Of Raping 2 Foster Child Over 12 Years — Including 4-Year-Old Lititz Man Accused Of Raping 2 Foster Child Over 12 Years — Including 4-Year-Old
Lititz Man Accused Of Raping 2 Foster Child Over 12 Years — Including 4-Year-Old The Pennsylvania State Police are concerned an accused child rapist may have more victims.  Frank Breneman, 71 of Lititz, is accused of raping and sexually assaulting two children for 12 years beginning when they were 4 and 11 years old, PSP Troop J announced on Thursday, June 6. He was arrested by the PSP Criminal Investigation Unit on charges of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, statutory sexual assault, and indecent assault of a child on Wednesday, June 5, according to the release.  His two preliminary arraignment…
Convicted Quakertown Rapist To Spend Nearly 50 Years In Prison, DA Says Convicted Quakertown Rapist To Spend Nearly 50 Years In Prison, DA Says
Convicted Quakertown Rapist To Spend Nearly 50 Years In Prison, DA Says A Quakertown man was sentenced on Tuesday, May 28 for sexually assaulting two children, according to the District Attorney's Office.  Matias J. Martinez Morales will spend between 18.5 and 47 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release, prosecutors said in a release.  Authorities said they launched the investigation in November 2022 when a 16-year-old told Quakertown police that Martinez Morales raped her when she was 4. The victim told detectives he "threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone," the DA's Office said.  A second victim told …
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…
Ex-Lancaster Cop Raped, Sexually Assaulted Multiple Youngsters In 1990s, Officials Say Ex-Lancaster Cop Raped, Sexually Assaulted Multiple Youngsters In 1990s, Officials Say
Ex-Lancaster Cop Raped, Sexually Assaulted Multiple Youngsters In 1990s, Officials Say Lancaster police have charged arrested two men with raping a 16-year-old victim in the city in 1997, one who was an officer tasked with the initial investigation. Andrew Selby, 54, and Roberto Rosario, 44, became the center of an investigation in March 2024, when Detective Sgt. Jessica Higgins was made aware of one alleged incident. Higgins spoke with a victim who detailed violent abuse by Rosario in Lancaster City in late 1997, police said. Selby, who was 28 at the time, responded to Lancaster General Hospital on Dec. 27, 1997, regarding the sexual assault by Rosario. The vi…