Glouco says suit in Autumn Pasquale death 'misplaced'

Facing criticism over its efforts to search for 12-year-old Autumn Pasquale before her body was discovered two years ago, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office on Monday called a recent lawsuit filed by Pasquale's family "misplaced."

"Law enforcement could not have prevented the death of Autumn, because she was killed several hours before she was ever reported missing," said Bernie Weisenfeld, spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office, in an e-mail. "Any civil action seeking money damages by pointing blame at police is misplaced."

The suit, filed last Monday in Gloucester County, says authorities organized a search of volunteers "miles from" Pasquale's home, as opposed to the neighborhood where she was last seen. Her body was found in a neighbor's recycling bin near the home of Justin Robinson, then 15, who confessed to strangling her.

"If proper and adequate law enforcement techniques would have been employed in this matter, Autumn may have been discovered sooner," the suit alleged, "and a reasonable chance exists that she would have survived."

Defendants include the New Jersey State Police and a number of towns, including Monroe Township, Elk Township, and Clayton. Police officials in those towns did not respond to inquiries Monday. State police declined to comment.

The suit alleges that Clayton police failed to implement an "appropriate approach" to Autumn's disappearance after her father reported her missing to Clayton Officer Eduardo Diaz on Oct. 20, 2012. Diaz could not be reached for comment Monday.

Authorities also allegedly refused help from a former law enforcement official, Joseph Nicholas, who did his own investigating for Pasquale's family and tracked down the suspect the next day, according to the suit.

A state trooper found Autumn's body the following day.

The suit alleges that authorities, by not acting soon enough and rejecting help, caused unnecessary emotional damage to the Pasquale family. It does not cite a specific amount in damages, but does seek monetary compensation.

The suit appears to follow on promises made by Autumn's father, Anthony, who threatened to sue Gloucester County authorities last year over their handling of the case. Prosecutor Sean Dalton then gave the case to a Camden County assistant prosecutor to avoid a legal conflict.

At trial, Pasquale's parents reluctantly accepted a plea deal that allowed the charge against Robinson to be dropped from murder to aggravated manslaughter. Robinson was sentenced to 17 years in prison, a term Pasquale's family said was too short.

Robinson's brother, Dante, was also originally charged with murder, but the charge was later dropped. Prosecutors declined to say why. Dante Robinson was released from a juvenile detention facility in September 2013.