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| Officer indicted in sex assaults on women inmates |
| By Newsday |
| Published: 04/04/2005 |
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A Union County (N.J.) officer has been indicted on rape and misconduct charges, accused of sexually assaulting five female inmates while on duty, the county prosecutor announced last Thursday. Sean Higgins also was charged with groping himself or 11 other women in exchange for cigarettes, candy or commissary items at the Union County Jail in Elizabeth, Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said. Higgins lawyer Robert T. Norton said his client would plead not guilty to the charges. "There's absolutely no corroboration whatsoever by any jail personnel or scientific evidence that any of these allegations by the female inmates can be substantiated," Norton said. Higgins, 30, faces five sexual assault counts, 19 official misconduct charges, and 15 counts of sexual contact. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison, Romankow said. "Our investigation with Union County Police detectives uncovered evidence supporting charges that this corrections officer betrayed his badge and uniform and took advantage of females entrusted to his care for his own selfish sexual gratification," Romankow said in a statement. Higgins, a corrections officer since 2000, was suspended last year with his arrest and remains free on $75,000 bail. |
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