Two NJ correctional officers sexually assaulted teen held at juvenile detention center, AG says
The victim, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said, "was sexually abused by the very officers that were supposed to be protecting her and providing her with care.”
Two senior New Jersey correctional officers were charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting a teen who was being held at a juvenile detention center in Bordentown, authorities said.
Gary Nieves, 53, of Burlington City, and Wiliam Young, 35, of Marlton, repeatedly assaulted an 18-year-old woman at the Female Secure Care and Intake Facility, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said at a news conference. They were charged with sexual assault, official misconduct, and related crimes.
“The victim in this case was allegedly sexually abused by the very officers that were supposed to be protecting her and providing her with care,” he said.
The two men face a maximum of 10 years in prison on each count of sexual assault and official misconduct. Nieves, who faces four counts of sexual assault, was also charged with witness tampering.
The two are being held in custody pending detention hearings, the attorney general said. It was unclear whether they had retained attorneys.
The correctional officers assaulted the teen multiple times — in her room, in a bathroom, and elsewhere at the facility, authorities said. They hid their actions by representing that they were supervising the victim as she cleaned her room and other areas of the center, said Steve Ferketic, director of the office’s division of criminal justice.
The investigation into the officers’ behavior began with an Aug. 14 tip to staffers at the Juvenile Justice Commission that Nieves and Young had been sexually abusing the victim, the Attorney General’s Office said. The teen later confirmed the allegations.
When Nieves learned of the investigation, authorities said, he wrote a note to the victim asking her to tell investigators that he was like a father figure to her and gave her good advice.
Young, for his part, had been warned to stop the abuse by a witness who told him to think of his wife and children and that he could lose his pension, the witness later told authorities, according to the affidavit.
The investigation is ongoing, authorities said.
Officials ask that anyone with information about the case call Lt. Garrett Brown at 609-273-8631.