Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office

                                 25 Kirkpatrick Street, 3rd Floor, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901 (732) 745-3300

 

                                *News Release*          Date: June 25, 2009                                                  
 
 

 

 


Karate school instructor pleads guilty to sexual assault

 

 

 

            Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan announced that an Old Bridge karate school instructor pleaded guilty today to a charge of sexually assaulting a female student.

 

          Patrick Betterton, (DOB 11/13/84) of 556 Marlboro Road, Old Bridge, pleaded guilty to a single count of second-degree sexual assault, admitting he had sexual intercourse with the 15-year-old student in Old Bridge on one occasion, sometime between March and April 2007.

 

          Under a plea agreement negotiated with Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Linda Estremera, the defendant faces six years in a New Jersey state prison when he is sentenced Oct. 5, 2009, by Superior Court Judge Bradley Ferencz at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick.

 

          As part of the plea agreement, Betterton will be listed on the state’s registry for sex offenders, and will be required to undergo parole supervision for the rest of his life.

 

          Betterton, who remains in custody at the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center, pleaded guilty to an accusation after waiving his right to have the case reviewed by a Middlesex County grand jury.

 

He was arrested and charged Feb. 19, 2009, at his studio, Tristar Martial Arts, after an investigation by Old Bridge Detective Richard Tulko and Investigator Daniel Ruschak, of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, determined the girl had been sexually assaulted.