Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office

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

 

                                *News Release*          Date: November 5, 2009

 
 

 

 


Man admits attempted aggravated sexual assault in New Brunswick

 

 

          Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan today announced that a New Brunswick man is facing 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of attempting to commit an aggravated sexual assault upon a 20-year-old woman.

 

Samuel Freeman (DOB 3/24/53) also pleaded guilty to two counts of making terroristic threats, admitting he threatened to shoot two men who interrupted the attack when they heard the woman’s screams.

 

Under a plea agreement reached with Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Sheree Pitchford, the defendant faces a New Jersey state prison term of 15 years and must serve 85 percent of the term before he can become eligible for parole.

 

He also faces four years on each count of terroristic threats, but that penalty will be served concurrently with the 15-year term for the attempted aggravated sexual assault.

 

Freeman also will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and faces parole supervision for the remainder of his life.

 

Freeman pleaded guilty on October 28, 2009, during a pre-trial hearing before Superior Court Judge Barbara Stolte at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick. Freeman is scheduled to be sentenced on January 29, 2010.

 

Shortly after midnight on September 18, 2008, the woman was walking to her apartment when she realized the defendant was following her on James Street.

 

She ducked into the entrance way of a home, pretending she lived there, and waited for Freeman to pass by. The woman continued walking, and then began running when she saw Freeman at the Somerset Street intersection.

 

Freeman ran after her, hit her, pulled her hair and knocked her to the ground. He continued to physically assault her and attempted to sexually assault her.

 

Freeman fled when the two men who heard the woman’s screams approached and told him to leave her alone.

 

Coincidentally, one of the men realized he knew the woman. Both men chased Freeman, who reached into his waistband, pretending he had a gun, and threatened to shoot them.

 

The men continued to chase Freeman, who was apprehended on Alexander Street when police arrived.