By David O’Reilly
The Philadelphia Inquirer
TRENTON, N.J. — Wearing handcuffs on his belt and barking commands into a fake police radio, a state corrections officer fooled prostitutes into thinking he was a police officer and persuaded them to give him free sex, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said.
State police detectives arrested Juan R. Stevens, 50, of Burlington City, on Thursday and charged him with second-degree sexual assault and third-degree criminal restraint, according to the office.
Stevens was taken to the Burlington County Jail with bail set at $200,000.
“We have zero tolerance for such corrupt conduct,” Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said.
On at least four occasions, Stevens, a senior corrections officer in Trenton, arranged for sexual encounters in Philadelphia or Burlington County, according to law enforcement officials.
Stevens would typically flash a badge and identify himself as a police officer, then ask for sex in exchange for making no arrest, the Attorney General’s Office said.
“By posing as a police officer and coercing victims into having sex with him, this defendant committed serious crimes and betrayed the public’s trust,” Chiesa said.
Stevens served at the New Jersey Department of Corrections central reception and assignment facility in Trenton.
In February 2012, officials said, Stevens called an adult escort service and agreed to pay a woman $125 for 30 minutes of sex. He then met her at a hotel in Westampton, where he allegedly flashed a police-style badge, identified himself as an officer, and said he was conducting a prostitution sting.
When the woman expressed alarm, Stevens allegedly spoke the command “stand down” into a cellphone that looked like a police radio and told the woman they could “work it out,” police said. He then had sexual intercourse with her and left without paying, according to officials.
The matter was reported to Westampton police.
An investigation identified at least three more women who said Stevens threatened to arrest them unless they had sex with him, and they complied.
Those alleged encounters took place last year at a home in Philadelphia and a motel in Maple Shade, according to police. In one case, they said, Stevens allegedly insisted the woman meet him two more times, when he coerced her into performing sex acts for which he did not pay.
In another instance, police said, Stevens negotiated a price of $160 for intercourse, then demanded a discount price of $100.
Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison with fines up to $150,000. Third-degree crimes carry sentences of three to five years and fines up to $15,000.
Elie Honig, director of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, said the investigation was still open and invited any alleged victims to contact his office at its toll-free line, 1-866-847-7425.
Copyright 2013 Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC
All Rights Reserved