MANALAPAN – A Manalapan Township Patrolman has been charged for messaging a 16-year-old and allegedly engaging in illegal behavior, officials said.
Kevin Ruditsky, 46, is charged with second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child, second-degree Official Misconduct, third-degree Computer Theft, third-degree Hindering Apprehension, fourth-degree Stalking, and False Imprisonment, a disorderly person’s offense.
According to officials, Ruditsky had been sending inappropriate messages and photos to a 16-year-old girl. This began after Ruhditsky met the victim at this year’s National Night Out event.
At this time, Ruditsky was in full uniform and let the victim sit in his patrol car. Later that evening and in the days that followed, he began sending her sexually explicit messages and photos through social media, despite the victim having repeatedly informed him of her age, officials said.
Several days after National Night Out, Ruditsky pulled the victim over while driving on Route 9, unlawfully handcuffed her, and attempted to kiss her while his dash camera and body-worn camera were both deactivated, officials said.
In addition, Ruditsky looked up the victim through law enforcement database in order to obtain her home address after the victim refuses to provide it. Ruditsky then parked his marked patrol vehicle outside of the victim’s home.
On August 30, Ruditsky was arrested without incident and lodged in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI).
“That a sworn member of law enforcement would begin to so egregiously violate the public’s trust while in uniform at an event specifically intended to strengthen trust between law enforcement and the public is, in a word, unconscionable,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said. “Swift action in addressing this conduct, culminating in the charges being announced today, was an absolute imperative.”
“The men and women of the Manalapan Township Police Department are and should be held to the highest moral and ethical standards, and it troubles me that the actions of one individual can stain the reputation of all of us. We are deeply saddened and disturbed that this victim had her trust betrayed by a man wearing one of our uniforms. I want to emphasize that this Department will continue to provide our community with the most professional service with integrity and compassion, as we have always done,” Township Police Chief Edward Niesz added. “We want our community to know that once the Manalapan Township Police Department became aware of the investigation into the conduct of Kevin Ruditsky, he was suspended, and upon being charged today, that suspension is without pay. The Department has fully cooperated and assisted the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office in this investigation from the onset and continues to support the Prosecutor’s Office through the arrest made yesterday. We will remain transparent and accountable to our community.”
Anyone with information about this or related matters is asked to contact MCPO Detective Gregory Hilton II at 800-533-7443.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.
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