Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office

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

 

                                *News Release*          Date: October 6, 2009

 
 

 

 


Teenager charged with bias intimidation in assault of Edison man

 

 

          Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan, Edison Police Director Brian Collier and Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan today announced that a bias intimidation charge has been filed against a 16-year-old male who previously was arrested on a charge of punching a 19-year-old man in Edison.

         

The 16 year old, whose name is being withheld because of his age, faces a charge of juvenile delinquency in the bias intimidation count that accuses him of targeting the man because of his religion.

 

The 16 year old initially was charged with juvenile delinquency in the aggravated assault of the 19-year-old man, and the additional charge was filed on October 2, 2009, following an investigation by Sgt. John Rodriguez of the prosecutor’s Bias Crimes Unit.

 

The 16 year old initially was arrested and charged after the township man, who is Jewish, told police he was punched at 7:25 p.m. while walking on Woodbridge Avenue, near Route 1, on September 19, 2009.

 

The Edison Police Department subsequently filed a bias incident report with the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, in accordance with state guidelines.

 

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Sgt. John McElwain, of the Edison Police Department, at (732) 248-7439, or Sgt. Rodriguez at (732) 745-4386.