New Jersey
New Jersey is creating a new online database to allow sexual assault survivors to track cases
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said they are building the new SAFE kit online database “while simultaneously working with law enforcement throughout the state to ensure that we have information to populate this platform once it’s ready — this is going to be, I think, really transformational.”
The construction of the database is being funded by a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.
Platkin said instead of different law enforcement agencies storing different SAFE kits, “we will be standardizing that data collection, and it will make it much easier for survivors to access that information.”
Teffenhart said that once the new data platform is completed, hopefully sometime later this year, survivors will be able to find out information about the status of their kit, whether it’s been tested and the results of the analysis.
“Survivors having access to that information in real-time is a powerful tool for their healing, and also for them building confidence in the criminal justice system’s ability to support their case,” she said. “When their kit is collected, they’ll receive log-in information for the portal, and information is power.”
After a reported sexual assault, survivors must have an exam within three to five days for the evidence to be preserved.
The directive prohibits law enforcement officers and prosecutors from refusing to submit evidence for testing solely based on their belief that the sexual act was consensual.
Teffenhart said this is important because sexual assault can and does take place in some marriages and long-term relationships, and “we’re trying to update New Jersey’s practices to be survivor-centered, trauma-informed and based on current realities and data.”
She noted in most cases, “acts of sexual violence are not about sex at all, but rather about power and control. It’s an opportunity for someone to exert dominance over someone else.”
She said it’s impossible to get a clear picture of how many sexual assaults take place in New Jersey every year, because the data only includes cases that get reported. The FBI confirms sexual assault is the most under-reported crime in the nation.
“Any data point that we’re looking at as it relates to law enforcement reports of sexual violence are grossly under representative of the number of survivors who come forward,” Teffenhart added.
If you or someone you know is a victim or witness of sexual violence in New Jersey, you can contact the statewide sexual violence hotline at 1-800-601-7200.
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A severe thunderstorm watch looms over North Jersey on the evening of June 12 after days of extreme heat.
Nation Weather Service New York declared a severe thunderstorm watch for numerous North Jersey counties including Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, Morris and Sussex among other Central Jersey and New York counties. The watch is in effect until 9 p.m., according to the NWS statement.
In an hourly forecast from The Weather Channel for Paramus, there is a 74% chance of thunderstorms at 7 p.m.
High temperatures reached past 90 degrees in many parts of North Jersey on June 11 and June 12 as a heat advisory also remains in effect until 8 p.m., said NWS New York.
“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.
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