New Jersey
NJ corrections officer charged with sexually assaulting prison inmates
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A Piscataway man who works as a New Jersey Department of Corrections officer in the state’s prison for sex offenders has been charged with sexually assaulting two inmates.
Anthony Nelson, 37, was charged with sexually assaulting the inmates at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in the Avenel section of Woodbridge, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone announced.
Nelson was arrested without incident on Dec. 15 and charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, Ciccone said.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office was alerted by New Jersey Department of Corrections Special Investigations Division on Dec. 1 that two inmates reported they were sexually assaulted by a correctional police officer over that past weekend, the prosecutor said.
An investigation led by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit along with the New Jersey Department of Corrections Special Investigations Division determined that Nelson allegedly sexually assaulted two inmates under his supervision, the prosecutor said.
Nelson was lodged at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center awaiting a preliminary hearing before a Superior Court judge.
The investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detectives Christopher Van Eerde or Tammy Colonna at 732-745-3300 or Investigator Sean Smith at 856-812-3310.