Two senior correctional officers in New Jersey have been charged with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old housed at a juvenile female detention center in Burlington County, officials announced Tuesday.
Gary Nieves, 53, and William Young, 35, were taken into custody and processed early Tuesday morning, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said at a news conference in Trenton.
The two men are facing multiple charges in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a young woman while she was being held at the Juvenile Female Secure Care and Intake Facility in Bordentown.
“I stand before you as the chief law enforcement of the state and the head of the Department of Law and Public Safety, which is where the Juvenile Justice Commission is housed,” Platkin said when announcing the charges.
“I also stand before you as a father and an advocate of progressive steps that we’ve taken in the field of youth justice and in the ongoing reform of that system,” he added. “But today, that system failed to keep a young woman in our care safe from harm.”
Nieves, of Burlington City, is accused of sexually assaulting the victim “multiple times in the bathroom,” under the guise he was supervising the victim while she cleaned the space, according to J. Stephen Ferketic, the state’s director of the Division of Criminal Justice.
He’s also accused of using a mop as a prop while assaulting the victim.
When he learned he was being investigated, Nieves allegedly instructed the victim to tell investigators she viewed him as “a father figure” and that he gave her “good advice,” according to Ferketic.
Nieves is charged with four counts of sexual assault as well as criminal sexual conduct, official misconduct and witness tampering.
The other officer arrested Tuesday is accused of sexually assaulting the teen in her cell.
Young, of Marlton, “pretended he was supervising the victim while she cleaned her room,” officials said.
He’s charged with sexual assault, criminal sexual conduct and official misconduct.
If convicted, both Nieves and Young could face up to 10 years in state prison for each count of sexual assault and official misconduct.
“We will not tolerate people in positions of power using their authority to abuse those in their care,” Platkin said in a statement. “The allegations facing these officers, that they preyed on a young person who was in their custody, warrant serious consequences.”
The Bordentown facility is the state’s only secure facility that provides education, treatment and custody for committed juvenile females. It’s designed to hold 48 females with 8 single rooms that serve as detention cells.
