New Brunswick NJ Criminal Defense Law Blog

When any New Jersey resident is accused of criminal misconduct with children or young adults, the criminal matter must be treated very carefully by the defendant. These types of alleged crimes carry an inherent stigma and emotional impact, which leaves defendants and their legal teams with their work cut out for them.

A New Jersey priest may soon be facing criminal penalties, unless he is able to mount a successful criminal defense in a case featuring several layers of accusations. Over a decade ago, the priest admitted to authorities that he had groped a young man. The priesthood, however, gave the man a second chance at his calling, and the man agreed in 2007 to avoid interacting with children in certain situations. The agreement was made with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, but prosecutors are now saying the priest violated a judicial order and could face up to 18 months in prison as a result.

Warmer spring days and nights frequently give rise to more incidents of violent crimes. However, most New Jersey residents expect these incidents to take place in the inner city, rather than at children's sporting events. However, on May 2, a brouhaha at a little league game in Berkeley, New Jersey ended in shocking assault charges for a team manager.

The 43-year-old man, who has coached little league for seven years, allegedly slapped a 17-year-old umpire at a game earlier this month. The man had been ejected from the game, and supposedly took out his ire over a call on the game official. He now faces suspension from the league as well as a ban from being on the playing fields. In addition, authorities issued the man a summons for simple assault as well as one for simple assault at a sporting event in the presence of children younger than 16. The man has since enlisted the help of a lawyer.

When most people think of burglary rings, they tend to also think of elaborate setups, complex operations, and Hollywood-style action heists. In real life, alleged rings of criminal activity can center on much more mundane topics. In New Jersey, a recent criminal matter involved the alleged burglary of a garden center.

State police issued charges of both burglary and theft against two young adults, whom they believe participated in as many as 20 break-ins, including the garden center incident on April 4 of this year. The two receiving the charges are a 25-year-old from New Egypt, and a 24-year-old from Cream Ridge. However, police believe that other individuals are also involved in a burglary ring that has spanned different parts of the state, and so far a total of four people have received various charges. The suspected crimes spanned six counties, including Ocean, Monmouth, Mercer, Burlington, Sussex, and Atlantic.

Those who work in any aspect of the financial industry are particularly susceptible to charges of financial crimes. Insurance adjusters, who play a vital role in New Jersey's financial sector as well as local economies, are vulnerable to such suspicions. A 39-year-old man from West Long Branch has recently been charged with insurance fraud in a case involving an undercover sting operation.

The adjuster, who also faces related white collar crime charges, had allegedly been attempting to defraud an insurance company by submitting false claims. According to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, the man tried to bilk the company out of over $15,000. Last year, authorities went undercover to expose what they believed to be fraudulent tactics of some public insurance adjusters. Following the sting, law enforcement had evidence that the man made false statements regarding property damage. Prosecutors also believe the man lied under oath about the cause of that property damage.