New Jersey
Garden State Equality director resigns amid child endangerment, assault charges
Christian Fuscarino resigned Tuesday as executive director of Garden State Equality amid charges of child endangerment and assault after an incident last month with a child in his Neptune City home.
“I resigned from Garden State Equality to ensure that the organization’s work is not impacted by a private family matter,” Fuscarino, a nationally recognized advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, said in a statement on social media.
“While my loved ones and I have been working through this moment together with care and love, the press has turned a deeply personal situation into a public headline,” Fuscarino said.
“Everyone involved is safe and navigating this situation responsibly,” he added.
Fuscarino asked that the matter “be seen for what it is: a private family moment, not a public spectacle.”
Fuscarino, 35, is charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child by a caretaker and two counts of simple assault, according to court documents.
An affidavit of probable cause alleges Fuscarino pulled the child from bed about 8 p.m. on Nov. 9 and struck the victim multiple times in the face with an open hand, pushing the child into a wall during the encounter.
The incident was captured on a home security video system, according to the affidavit.
The child was later taken to the Monmouth County Child Advocacy Center in Freehold for a forensic interview. The child made no disclosure of physical abuse, the affidavit states.
However, another person living in the home told investigators they witnessed Fuscarino strike the child and intervened.
The state Division of Child Protection and Permanency obtained the video and notified the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office on Nov. 20.
A Neptune City police detective arrested Fuscarino on Nov. 21. The case has since been referred to the prosecutor’s office, court records show.
In a statement Tuesday, Garden State Equality said they had placed Fuscarino on leave after learning of the charges.
By Wednesday, Fuscarino’s bio on the Garden State Equality website had been removed.
“Garden State Equality takes allegations against our staff seriously and we oppose violence of any kind,” the agency said. “We respect the courts and will allow that process to be handled by them.”
Fuscarino had served since 2016 as the executive director of Garden State Equality, the largest LGBTQ+ organization in New Jersey, which is based in Asbury Park.
With 20 years of experience in LGBTQ+ advocacy, Fuscarino had been at the forefront of efforts to protect transgender rights, combat hate violence, and implement groundbreaking healthcare and education policies.
In a July 2018 story posted to NJ.com, Fuscarino said he wanted to dedicate his life to helping New Jersey’s LGBTQ+ community so that others would not have to suffer the indignities that he endured in adolescence.
“Dangerous heat is expected to continue across much of our region through today, with several record highs likely to be challenged again. High temperatures are forecast to peak into the low to mid 90s across most of the area,” the National Weather Service said Friday.
A Heat Advisory is in effect until 8 p.m. across the state except for Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties.
PHILADELPHIA – Philip McPherson II, a 37-year-old from Riverside, New Jersey, was sentenced Thursday, June 11, to 78 months in prison for his role in a 2022 plane crash in Lehigh County that killed a student pilot, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Sentencing and charges for fatal Lehigh Valley crash
What we know:
United States District Judge John M. Gallagher sentenced McPherson to 78 months in prison, three years of supervised release, a $5,000 fine, a $4,300 special assessment, and $19,530 in restitution. Judge Gallagher also barred McPherson from working in the aviation industry.
McPherson pleaded guilty in October to involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, obstruction of an administrative proceeding, and 40 counts of serving as an airman without a certificate.
The backstory:
Court filings show that on September 28, 2022, McPherson took off from Queen City Airport in Allentown as the pilot-in-command with student pilot K.K. and crashed shortly after, resulting in K.K.’s death.
Prosecutors said McPherson acted with gross negligence, knowing he was not competent to fly as pilot-in-command. He had two prior crashes, nearly a third, and failed a reexamination for his pilot’s certificate in September 2021.
McPherson voluntarily surrendered his pilot’s certificate in October 2021 and let his Temporary Airman Certificate expire in November 2021, acknowledging his inability to meet FAA standards.
He admitted to flying with passengers without a valid FAA pilot’s certificate between October 12, 2021, and September 20, 2022.
Investigators from the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, FAA, and Salisbury Township Police Department worked on the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Schopf and Special Assistant United States Attorney Marie Miller.
What we don’t know:
Authorities have not released further details about the circumstances leading up to the crash.
The Source: Information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.
On Sunday, June 14, a bell will ring at the Historic Olde Courthouse in Mount Holly, New Jersey, as part of a festival to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.
In the summer of 1776, officials rang the same bell at the courthouse in Burlington City, the seat of Burlington County at the time, after the Declaration of Independence was signed.
The bell was moved to Mount Holly in 1796 when that city became the Burlington County seat.
Marisa Bozarth, Burlington County’s museum curator of history, said courthouse bells were rung in the 1700s to signify that something important was taking place.
“They would have rung it when there was a large court case of any significance, when the jury was coming back, so people knew to return to the courthouse to hear the verdict,” she said. “The bell was also rung any time there was any public reading of any sort of important document. It was their way to get the information out to the masses quickly.”
After the wording of the Declaration of Independence was finalized and the document was signed, every state received a copy so it could be shared with the people living there. At the time, some Burlington County residents wanted to remain loyal to Britain, while others supported the movement for independence, Bozarth said.
“I would think it was a bit of a scary time because when the Declaration of Independence was finally signed and then presented, it meant we were really going to war,” she said. “We were declaring our independence, but we weren’t officially an independent nation yet. It meant a scary time was coming because Britain wasn’t going to accept that and just let us walk away.”
-
Oklahoma2 minutes agoSix horses caught in $4.8 Mil Oklahoma cocaine seizure, now working towards rehabilitation
-
Oregon7 minutes ago1 dead after small plane crashes into field near Twin Oaks Airpark in Hillsboro
-
Pennsylvania14 minutes agoPennsylvania State Police issue over 6,000 citations during ‘Operation Hands Off’
-
South-Carolina17 minutes ago
Clemson receiver Tristan Smith granted temporary injunction for 5th season by South Carolina judge
-
Rhode Island17 minutes agoHailey Bieber’s beauty brand Rhode launches summer tour in Newport
-
South Dakota29 minutes agoSouth Dakota leaders approve funding for projects in Rapid City, Lake County and Sioux Falls
-
Tennessee32 minutes agoTennessee SNAP enrollment drops by more than 100,000 following federal rule changes
-
Texas37 minutes agoDeadly mass shooting in Texas
