Jury convicts Mercer County man of aggravated sexual assault
A Monmouth County jury convicted a 29 year old defendant last week of aggravated sexual assault for raping a sleeping woman in Neptune City in July 2007. According to the Asbury Park Press article, the defendant raped his friend's girlfriend while she was sleeping at her boyfriend's home in Neptune City, New Jersey. The victim testified that she woke up during the assault. The defendant admitted having sex with the victim but argued to the jury that it was consensual. Obviously the jury believed the victim over the defendant. As a result of the jury verdict, the defendant is facing up to twenty (20) years in state prison. Further, his sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act which requires him to serve 85% of the sentence imposed. Moreover, the defendant, based on this conviction for aggravated sexual assault, will be subject to parole supervision for life and must register as a sex offender under Megan's Law.
In New Jersey, charges for aggravated sexual assault are governed by N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2 which provides in pertinent part:
§ 2C:14-2. Sexual assault
a. An actor is guilty of aggravated sexual assault if he commits an act of sexual penetration with another person under any one of the following circumstances:
(1) The victim is less than 13 years old;
(2) The victim is at least 13 but less than 16 years old; and
(a) The actor is related to the victim by blood or affinity to the third degree, or
(b) The actor has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of the actor's legal, professional, or occupational status, or
(c) The actor is a resource family parent, a guardian, or stands in loco parentis within the household;
(3) The act is committed during the commission, or attempted commission, whether alone or with one or more other persons, of robbery, kidnapping, homicide, aggravated assault on another, burglary, arson or criminal escape;
(4) The actor is armed with a weapon or any object fashioned in such a manner as to lead the victim to reasonably believe it to be a weapon and threatens by word or gesture to use the weapon or object;
(5) The actor is aided or abetted by one or more other persons and the actor uses physical force or coercion;
(6) The actor uses physical force or coercion and severe personal injury is sustained by the victim;
(7) The victim is one whom the actor knew or should have known was physically helpless, mentally defective or mentally incapacitated.
Aggravated sexual assault is a crime of the first degree.
In this case, the State charged the defendant based on subsection (7) of the statute because the victim was "physically helpless" while sleeping and the defendant assaulted her.
