A rabbi in Ocean County is being sued by a woman who claims he sexually assaulted her when she came to him for financial help, then defamed her on a website and in fliers he posted near her children’s school.
New Jersey
Meet 13 female New Jersey soccer players ready for the NWSL’s 2025 season
New Jersey will be well represented when the National Women’s Soccer League’s 2025 season begins.
Of the 13 players with ties to New Jersey, Utah has three: Paige Monaghan from Roxbury, Emily Gray of Sewell, and Rutgers alumna Madison Pogarch.
Gotham FC, however, whose front office is on the Jersey City waterfront and shares the Red Bulls’ training facility in Hanover, doesn’t have any players who grew up in the Garden State.
Washington defeated Orlando in a shootout in the Challenge Cup on March 7, a rematch of last season’s finale. The regular season kicks off on Friday.
Meet the 13 NWSL players with New Jersey roots:
North Jersey
Paige Monaghan, Roxbury
Utah Royals F
▪ A former All-Daily Record soccer Player of the Year at Roxbury, Monaghan signed a three-year contract extension with Utah on Jan. 7. A six-year NWSL veteran who also played for Gotham FC and Racing Louisville, Monaghan became the 100th NWSL player to notch 100 career NWSL appearances in a 1-0 loss back home against Gotham on Sep. 22.
San Diego Wave M/D
▪ Selected by the Reign in the 2017 draft out of Virginia, McNabb had two goals and two assists in 76 matches. She moved to San Diego in the expansion draft in December 2021. McNabb, 30, has appeared in 69 matches with the Wave over three seasons.
Central Jersey
Danielle Colaprico, Freehold Township
Houston Dash M
▪ Selected ninth by Chicago in 2015, Colaprico was voted the NWSL Rookie of the Year. She was loaned to Adelaide United and Sydney FC in Australia for three total seasons. After five goals and 11 assists in over a decade with Chicago and San Diego, Colaprico signed a two-year deal with Houston on Jan. 21.
▪ A Red Bank Catholic and Virginia alumna, Colaprico graduated as the Cavaliers’ all-time leader in assists (44) and appearances (100).
Alana Cook, Far Hills
Kansas City Current D
▪ Cook signed with Paris-St. Germain out of college, transferring to OL Reign in June 2021. She played 65 matches in Seattle, and was traded to Kansas City in mid-July. Cook, 27, started all 12 matches in KC.
▪ Cook has a goal and two assists in 29 caps with the United States women’s national team since her debut in November 2019.
▪ The 2015 NSCAA High School Scholar Player of the Year at Pennington, Cook was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year at Stanford. A first team All-America as a senior, Cook had five goals and seven assists in 93 starts.
Jylissa Harris, Hazlet
Houston Dash D
▪ Selected by Houston with the 22nd overall pick in January 2023, she appeared in 21 matches over two seasons. Harris signed a new, two-year deal.
▪ A center back at South Carolina, Harris set the NCAA Division-I record for all-time minutes (9,395). She is No. 1 at South Carolina and third all-time with 107 games played. Harris led Red Bank Catholic in goals as a freshman, sophomore and junior, totaling 40 goals and 26 assists.
Emily Mason, Flemington/Rutgers
Seattle Reign D
▪ Mason was the Reign’s first collegiate signing after the NWSL eliminated its draft, inking a one-year deal. She had six goals and seven assists in 82 appearances at Rutgers, helping win the program’s first Big Ten title in 2021. She was a Big Ten first-team honoree in 2022 and 2024.
▪ Mason was named the 2019-20 Gatorade National Player of the Year at Hunterdon Central and won the New Jersey award in 2020 and 2021. She helped Hunterdon Central win the 2019 Group IV title.
▪ Mason was named to the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship Best XI as the United States earned seven straight shutouts en route to gold.
Casey Murphy, Bridgewater/Rutgers
North Carolina Courage G
▪ This will be Murphy’s fifth season with the Courage. She has 44 shutouts in 118 appearances, and is the team’s all-time wins leader.
▪ The tallest female goalkeeper in USWNT history at 6-foot-1, Murphy was undefeated with seven shutouts in her first nine starts, and now has 15 clean sheets in 20 appearances. She was the backup on the USWNT’s gold-medal Olympic team, but did not play.
▪ Rutgers’ career shutout leader, Murphy was named Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year and first team All-Big Ten in 2017. She was the 13th overall pick after that season, but signed with Montpellier in France instead of Sky Blue. Named the league’s top goalkeeper, Murphy returned home and signed with Reign in May 2019.
Madison Pogarch, Rutgers
Utah Royals D
▪ Pogarch, 27, spent four seasons in Portland and two in San Diego (93 appearances) before signing with Utah prior to the 2024 season. She played 1,884 minutes in 24 regular-season matches.
▪ Pogarch was born and raised in Michigan, transferring to Rutgers for her senior season in 2018 after three years at Central Michigan. She started all 19 matches and was named third team All Big Ten.
Casey Phair, Warren Township
Angel City F
▪ Phair, 17, signed with Angel City in January 2024, and played 24 minutes as a sub in a Summer Cup match against Bay FC.
▪ Born in South Korea, her family relocated to the United States when she was a month old and settled in New Jersey in 2020. Phair had 25 goals and seven assists in 18 matches as a Pingry freshman.
Emma Sears, New Brunswick
Racing Louisville F
▪ A three-time All-Big Ten honoree, Sears had 25 goals and 15 assists in 83 matches over five seasons at Ohio State. Drafted 28th overall by Louisville in 2024, she set the club record with five goals in 26 appearances (12 starts) as a rookie.
▪ Born in New Brunswick, Sears moved to England and California before the family settled in Dublin, Ohio, before her freshman year in high school.
South Jersey
Emily Gray, Sewell
Utah Royals M
▪ Drafted by North Carolina third overall in 2022, she had two assists in three matches. Her 2023 season was cut short by an ACL injury. Traded to Utah in November 2023, Gray made two appearances before being loaned to Odense Boldklub Q in the Danish Kvindeliga for the remainder of the 2024 season.
▪ Gray had 34 goals and 43 assists in three seasons for Washington Township. Second all-time in points, Gray helped Virginia Tech earn three NCAA Tournament berths.
Brittany Ratcliffe, Williamstown
Washington Spirit F
▪ Known for wearing a bright orange hair bow, Ratcliffe has 11 goals in 107 appearances with Boston, Kansas City, Utah, Carolina and Washington. The 31-year-old appeared in her 100th career NWSL match on Nov. 2 against Carolina
▪ Ratcliffe played at Paul VI, then the University of Virginia.
Riley Tiernan, Voorhees/Rutgers
Angel City F
▪ Tiernan signed a two-year contract with Angel City on March 3, after spending preseason on trial. Her older sister, Madison, had five goals in 42 appearances for Gotham from 2017-20.
▪ Tiernan is Rutgers’ all-time record holder with 34 career assists, and also scored 19 goals. She is a four-time All Big Ten honoree. Tiernan also ranks first at Eastern Regional with 85 assists and third with 85 goals. She helped Eastern win the 2018 Group IV title.
New Jersey
NJ rabbi faces lawsuit for sexual assault after giving financial aid | The Jerusalem Post
Avraham Appel, of Jackson, abused his position as a trusted community leader to sexually assault and exploit the woman, an Israeli immigrant who came to him as a single mother struggling to pay bills, according to the lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of Ocean County.
Appel is a prominent rabbi and Rosh Kollel, or head of a Jewish institute for advanced Talmudic study, who is based in Lakewood and Jackson, according to court papers filed January 5.
Appel did not respond to calls to his home and cellphone seeking comment on the lawsuit.
The woman claims she confided in one of her children’s schoolteachers in early 2020 that she was in significant financial distress and having trouble paying for daycare.
The teacher suggested she contact Appel, according to the suit.
In February 2020, Appel arranged to meet with the woman at a local Starbucks.
“During that meeting, Appel presented himself to (the woman) as a rabbi, mentor, advisor, and friend whom (the woman) could trust, confide in, and depend on,” the lawsuit states.
Appel, who had experience in real estate, allegedly offered the woman an opportunity to solicit investments on his behalf and to “draw,” or advance, money against future commissions.
Rabbi issues payments to woman after alleged sexual assault
In June and July 2022, Appel issued six payments to the woman, totaling $20,000 and characterized as advances or loans. He also provided the woman with “financial assistance” so she could buy groceries and pay medical expenses and water bills, according to the suit.
The lawsuit claims most of the money was meant to buy the woman’s silence after he attacked her on June 1, 2022.
The suit alleges Appel visited the woman while she was alone at home and sexually assaulted her as she pleaded for him to stop.
“Appel was abusive and unrelenting. The more (the woman) pled for mercy, the more aggressive Appel became,” the suit alleges.
Before leaving her home, he allegedly ordered her to delete Ring camera footage that showed him arriving.
In the months after the assault, Appel “forced himself upon” the woman and took sexual advantage of her on other occasions, the suit claims.
Appel also allegedly bombarded the woman with demands for sexual acts and sent her a barrage of text and WhatsApp messages containing crude and graphic sexual content.
“I want to squeeze your breasts,” one text allegedly said. In another, he sent the woman a photo of his penis, the suit alleges.
In July 2024, the woman met with another rabbi and shared evidence of the sexual assault and “other incidents involving Appel,” the suit claims.
Woman offered $50,000 for therapy after sexual assault
Appel later contacted his attorney and the two offered the woman $50,000 to cover her future therapy expenses.
The money would be available only if the woman signed a release of any claims related to the assault and agreed to keep all incidents between them confidential, according to the suit.
The woman refused to accept the money or sign the agreement, the suit says.
Appel then launched a campaign to destroy the woman “personally and professionally,” according to the lawsuit.
On December 15, 2025, the woman became aware of a website with her photos that claimed she was “a danger to all Jews,” and warned the public to stay away from her, according to the complaint.
The website disclosed the woman’s address, claimed she stole money, and characterized her as a “thief.”
Moreover, Appel and possibly others posted signs smearing the woman. The signs were posted at public locations throughout the community, including the school her two children attended, the suit alleges.
The lawsuit claims sexual assault, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and conspiracy.
The complaint also alleges Appel breached his duty as a rabbi to conduct himself with loyalty and in good faith.
A shooting investigation in Camden County has prompted a large police response, according to a source.
Léelo en español aquí
The shooting unfolded in the area of Locust Court in Winslow Township in the evening of June 17.
SkyForce10 was over the scene of what looked like a residential complex as several police cars were visible lining the streets.
Police tape appeared to be blocking off the area as officers looked at a sedan that appeared to have crashed into another car.
No word yet on what led to the shooting or if anyone was hurt.
A New Jersey man pleaded guilty in connection to a car accident that killed a woman and a girl in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, last July.
Raul Luna-Perez, 43, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of assault by auto and aggravated manslaughter, on Monday, June 15, 2026, prosecutors said.
He is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 28, 2026.
According to Ocean County officials, on July 26, 2025, officers from Lakewood Township responded to a car crash with multiple injuries at the intersection of Cross Street and Hearthstone Drive.
In the investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Lakewood Township Police, and Ocean County Sherrif’s department, it was revealed that a Dodge Durango operated by Luna-Perez, also holding a passenger, crossed into an oncoming lane of traffic and collided head-on with a Nissan Sentra.
Maria Pleitez, 42, and two 11-year-old girls were inside the Nissan Sentra at the time.
Pleitez was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. One of the 11-year-old girls was transported to Monmouth Medical Center South Campus where she died from her injuries. The second 11-year-old girl was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC) where she was treated for her injuries and eventually released.
The passenger in Luna-Perez’s Dodge Durango received minor injuries as a result of the crash, and was treated at JSUMC.
According to police, first responders at the scene detected that Luna-Perez was showing signs of impairment. He was transported to JSUMC, where his blood was drawn. The results of the blood test included a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.19 and traces of cocaine.
In New Jersey, operators of cars are presumed to be over the legal limit for alcohol consumption when their Blood Alcohol Content is 0.08 or greater. As a result of the blood test of Luna-Perez, his charges were upgraded to two counts of aggravated manslaughter and strict liability vehicular manslaughter on Aug. 7, 2025, investigators reveal.
That same day, Luna-Perez was taken into custody at an ICE detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, though he was transported to Ocean County Jail by detectives and has been detained there since.
Subsequently in the investigation, it was revealed that Luna-Perez was accelerating at approximately 60 miles-per-hour at the time of the crash and crossed the yellow line.
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, the State of New Jersey will be seeking two 10-year terms for each aggravated manslaughter charge of Luna-Perez, and an 18-month sentence for his assault by auto offense. The aggravated manslaughter sentences will run consecutively, while the assault by auto sentence will run concurrently.
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