Jackson man facing sex assault charges

 

JACKSON — The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office announced on June 27 that David J. Muha, 44, of Jackson, has been charged in connection with the sexual assault of a minor.

According to officials, Muha allegedly had sexual contact with two minor females. Authorities said one of the girls alerted authorities to the incidents.

Muha was charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, two counts of second-degree sexual assault, and two separate counts of endangering the welfare of a child

 

“We are talking about children under the age of 13, that’s what makes [the aggravated sexual assault charge] a first-degree offense,” Executive Assistant Prosecutor Michael A. Paulhus said.

Muha is prohibited from having contact with the girls, and Nicole’s Law is in effect, Paulhus told the Tri-Town News. Nicole’s Law permits victims of sex offenses to obtain a restraining order against their alleged attacker.

Paulhus commended Detective Melissa Matthews of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Family Protection Unit and Detective Mitch Cowit of the Jackson Police Department for their work on the investigation.

— Andrew Martins

 

 

HIGHTSTOWN — A judge yesterday set bail at $300,000 for a borough resident accused of sexually assaulting a woman who shares a boardinghouse room with him and his girlfriend.

Raul Marca, 36, is charged with aggravated sexual assault in the incident that allegedly occurred Aug. 27.

Marca allegedly assaulted the woman while she was drunk and incapacitated, prosecutors said. She told police that she awoke in her bed to find the assault in progress, prosecutors said.

Marca is in this country illegally and a detainer has been placed on him by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, prosecutors said.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Brown ordered Marca to have no contact with the victim if he makes bail, and he placed a Nicole’s Law restraining order against him. Named for Nicole Norberto of Ocean County, Nicole’s Law allows victims of sexual assault to obtain restraining orders against their attackers in cases that don’t involve domestic violence.

 

 

New bail conditions for Patrick Deck, who allegedly filmed child urinating

 

 

By Kathryn Brenzel | The Express-Times 
on August 20, 2012 at 5:50 PM, updated August 20, 2012 at 6:41 PM

 

If Patrick Deck posts bail, he'll need to explain the source of the $200,000.

Deck, 52, of Watchung N.J.,, appeared today in New Jersey Superior Court in Belvidere on the latest set of charges alleging he assaulted and filmed a child performing sexual acts.

Warren County Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Brotzman requested that a bail source inquiry be another condition of Deck's bail.

The order requires whoever posts the bail to fill out a questionnaire disclosing where the money is from, previous and current employers, relationship to the defendant and other information.

Brotzman also indicated that Deck is no longer eligible for the early disposition program, meaning the prosecutor's office will not offer him a plea deal before his case appears before a grand jury.

Judge Ann R. Bartlett granted the condition as well as a Nicole's Law restraining order, barring Deck from contacting victims or their families. The restriction includes visiting places of employment, schools and homes of any of those listed on the order.

The recent accusations followed an incident Aug. 12 in which Deck was arrested on charges that he was filming a child urinating at the Land of Make Believe water park in Hope Township.

Investigators searched his Lakeview Avenue home after the arrest, leading to thediscovery of child pornography and evidence that he assaulted and filmed a male child in 2002 and 2005 in Chester Township and Watchung, according to court documents. Deck knew the child, according to the prosecutor's office.

Deck is being held in the Warren County jail. He faces three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of sexual contact with a minor, two counts of possessing child pornography, three counts of invasion of privacy and one count of possession of a weapon by a convicted person.

In addition to the conditions added today, Deck's bail stipulates house arrest, no contact with minors and electronic monitoring.

 

 

A Washington Township, N.J., man recently sentenced on child endangerment charges was arrested Friday for allegedly contacting the 14-year-old victim, meaning he could face state prison time, according to court records. 

 

Douglas Drift, of the first block Plane Hill Road, allegedly violated a Nicole's Law restraining order, which barred him from contacting the victim of a previous sexual assault conviction. The 20-year-old appeared on the charge Wednesday in New Jersey Superior Court in Belvidere, according to court records.  

 

The arrest may mean a three-year state prison stay if the judge imposes a condition of his previous sentencing. 

 

Drift received a time-served sentence Dec. 21 on a child endangerment charge. Judge Ann R. Bartlett indicated at the time that if he contacted the victim or her family, he would face three years in New Jersey State Prison. 

 

He was 18 years old when he was arrested in November 2011 on charges he touched a 13-year-old girl inappropriately. Police subsequently charged Drift for breaking bail conditions by repeatedly contacting the victim. The Warren County Prosecutor's Office had dropped sexual contact charges against Drift as part of a plea agreement. 

 

 

He was released from the Warren County jail Wednesday after posting $20,000 bail, according to jail records