Parsippany NJ police recently arrested a Lake Hiawatha man accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl on multiple occasions.
According to authorities, the 23-year-old suspect had sex with the underage girl a number of times while the two of them were drunk. The alleged sex crimes occurred between December 17 and March 22.
The victim’s family learned of the alleged sex offenses after they reportedly discovered sexually explicit messages on the girl’s cell phone. The family confronted the girl about the texts; she reportedly confirmed that she had sex with the suspect while both of them were intoxicated.
The girl’s family then alerted Parsippany NJ police, which started to investigate the allegations.
Parsippany NJ investigators interviewed the suspect, who reportedly said that he was too intoxicated while in the presence of the girl to recall whether he actually had sex with her.
Parsippany police arrested the suspect a short time later. He was charged with several sex crimes, including sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
If the suspect is ultimately convicted of the most serious sexual assault charges, he would be subject to significant penalties. As set forth by N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2, sexual assault is a second degree felony. A conviction for second degree sexual assault could lead to a sentence of 5-10 years in New Jersey State Prison. Moreover, a convicted sex offender would be required to register as a sex offender after being released from prison.
After the suspect was arrested and charged, he was taken to the Morris County Jail in Morristown, NJ. He was being held at the correctional facility on a $125,000 bail amount. During a bail review hearing in Morris County Superior Court, the suspect’s defense attorney requested a reduction in bail; however, the superior court judge maintained the high bail.
To learn more about this case, access the NJ.com article entitled “Parsippany Man Allegedly Had Sex with 14-Year-Old, Report Says.”