New Brunswick Sex Crimes Attorney for Middlesex County

Reviewed by William A. Proetta, Esq. · Updated October 2026

Sex offense charges in Middlesex County run from a disorderly persons lewdness complaint under N.J.S.A. 2C:14-4(a), punishable by up to six months in jail, to first-degree aggravated sexual assault under N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(a), punishable by 10 to 20 years in state prison, or 25 years to life where the complaining witness was under 13. Between those poles are second-degree sexual assault and child luring (5 to 10 years), endangering the welfare of a child (second or third degree), and criminal sexual contact (third or fourth degree), and many of these convictions add Megan’s Law registration and Parole Supervision for Life to whatever sentence the judge imposes.

Every indictable sex charge here is reviewed by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) on Kirkpatrick Street and, once indicted, tried at the Middlesex County Courthouse, 56 Paterson Street, New Brunswick. A disorderly persons lewdness case stays in the local court for Edison, Woodbridge, Old Bridge or whichever town it came from. We handle each stage from our Edison office at 3840 Park Ave. I have tried criminal cases for more than 15 years, and in this field the choices made before a grand jury meets tend to decide the outcome.

Our Middlesex County Sex Crimes Pages, Most Serious First

Each page covers one charge as prosecuted here: elements, grade, consequences and defenses.

1. Aggravated sexual assault (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(a)). Penetration plus one of seven circumstances, such as a child under 13, a weapon or serious injury; first degree, 10 to 20 years or 25 years to life, under the 85% rule.
2. Sexual assault and the 2C:14-2 penalties (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2). Penetration without affirmative, freely given permission, or in one of the age, custody or authority situations the statute lists; first or second degree, with no time limit for charging.
3. Child sexual abuse material (N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4(b)). Making, sharing or possessing what used to be called child pornography, graded by item count from third degree up to first degree, usually built on an ICAC investigation.
4. Luring or enticing a child (N.J.S.A. 2C:13-6). A second-degree crime that includes online cases in which the “child” is an undercover detective; luring an adult under 2C:13-7 is a third-degree crime with no registration.
5. Endangering the welfare of a child (N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4). Sexual conduct with a minor, or abuse or neglect, graded second degree for a caregiver and third degree for anyone else; subsection (b) separately covers child sexual abuse material by item count.
6. Criminal sexual contact (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3). Intentional touching of intimate parts without penetration: fourth degree, or third degree in its aggravated form. The basic form requires registration only when the complaining witness was a minor.
7. Invasion of privacy (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-9). Watching, recording or sharing intimate images without consent; third or fourth degree, with no Megan’s Law registration.
8. Prostitution and solicitation (N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1). A first offense by a patron or provider is a disorderly persons offense; repeat offenses, promoting, and any case involving someone under 18 are crimes.
9. Lewdness and indecent exposure (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-4). Usually a disorderly persons offense in municipal court, fourth degree when the exposure is aimed at a child under 13; never a Megan’s Law offense.
10. Megan’s Law for Middlesex registrants (N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2). Not a charge but a status: tier notices from the MCPO, hearings in New Brunswick, and third-degree failure-to-register prosecutions.
11. Megan’s Law removal and re-tiering (N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2(f)). Applying to end registration or Parole Supervision for Life, or to move to a lower tier, in the Superior Court in New Brunswick.

Which Convictions Carry Lasting Consequences

The grade sets the prison range. Four other rules decide what outlasts the sentence:

• 85 percent parole bar. The No Early Release Act reaches aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault under 2C:14-2(b) and (c)(1), and causing a child to take part in a recorded sexual act under 2C:24-4(b)(3). It does not reach criminal sexual contact, luring or most endangering charges.
• Registration and PSL. Every form of 2C:14-2, aggravated criminal sexual contact, endangering by sexual conduct and child luring brings both. Fourth-degree touching of an adult, lewdness and adult luring bring neither.
• The Avenel examination. After a conviction under 2C:14-2, 2C:14-3(a) or 2C:24-4(a), the court must order a Department of Corrections evaluation, tied to the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in the Avenel section of Woodbridge Township, before sentencing. Luring, lewdness and fourth-degree contact do not trigger it.
• No expungement. Sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact, contact with a minor, child luring and the listed endangering offenses can never be expunged. Lewdness and fourth-degree contact with an adult can be.

How Sex Offense Cases Move Through Middlesex County

The investigation. The MCPO Special Victims Unit handles sexual offenses against adults and sexual or physical abuse of children, working alongside the local police department and, in child cases, the Division of Child Protection and Permanency. The unit runs a Multi-Disciplinary Team of law enforcement, DCPP caseworkers and medical and mental health professionals that meets bi-monthly, and its detectives conduct recorded forensic interviews of young complaining witnesses. Cases that start online, such as chat-based luring or file-sharing investigations, belong to the office’s Internet Crimes Against Children detectives. By the time a detective asks for “your side,” the file is usually well developed.

Arrest and the first days. For aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault, the Attorney General’s charging directive requires police to seek a complaint-warrant rather than a summons, so the accused is held at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center on Apple Orchard Lane in North Brunswick until a first appearance. Apart from an (a)(1) charge involving a child under 13, which carries a possible life term, these charges carry no statutory presumption of detention. To keep someone jailed, the prosecutor must file a motion and meet a clear-and-convincing standard, and a release order nearly always bars contact with the complaining witness.

Indictment and diversion. A Middlesex grand jury sitting in New Brunswick decides whether to indict and on which subsection, and the weeks before that vote are often the best time to present evidence the detectives never gathered. An application for Pretrial Intervention goes through the Middlesex Criminal Division and is due before the first case disposition conference after arraignment. For a first- or second-degree charge, the prosecutor must consent before PTI can even be considered.

Campus cases. When a Rutgers–New Brunswick student is accused, a university Title IX process may run at the same time as the criminal case. We plan for both so that a statement made in one forum does not become evidence in the other.

Registry Questions for Middlesex Residents

The MCPO Megan’s Law Unit monitors registration in the county, scores each registrant’s risk, assigns one of three tiers and carries out Tier 3 community notification, using a mapping database to define the notification area. Our statewide page on how Megan’s Law registration works lists the triggering offenses and deadlines, and our page on Megan’s Law tiers explains the risk scale and the hearing that must come before Tier 2 or Tier 3 notice.

Speak With a Middlesex County Sex Crimes Attorney

Whether it is a detective’s card, a served complaint or a tier notice, bring it to us before you answer it. William Proetta Criminal Law offers a free, private review of your case at (732) 659-9600, day or night, or you can reach us online. Se habla español.