A North Plainfield police officer has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a woman at a hotel in Kenilworth earlier this year, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Tuesday.
Mike Jean-Baptiste, 29, is charged with a single count of second-degree sexual assault.
The Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victims Unit investigation into this matter was initiated by a referral from the Kenilworth Police Department, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Scott Peterson, who is prosecuting the case. The investigation revealed that Jean-Baptiste first encountered the adult victim while on duty on March 2, 2017 and allegedly sexually assaulted her later that night at The Kenilworth, a hotel just off the Garden State Parkway, Peterson said.
Jean-Baptiste was taken into custody without incident Monday afternoon in North Plainfield and lodged in Union County Jail pending a first appearance scheduled to take place today.
Anyone with information about this matter or other actions of Jean-Baptiste is urged to contact Special Victims Unit Sgt. Patricia Gusmano at 908-965-3877. The Prosecutor’s Office also would like to thank the Kenilworth Police Department for its assistance with this investigation.
Convictions on second-degree crimes are commonly punishable by 5 to 10 years in state prison.
These criminal charges are mere accusations. Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.