FREEHOLD – A Howell man has been sentenced to 41½ years in state prison for committing sexual crimes against a then-12-year-old victim over the course of approximately a year, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Wednesday.
John K. Cruz, 54, was sentenced yesterday by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Richard W. English, who noted that Cruz must serve at least 85 percent of the first 40 years of his term before becoming eligible for parole, under the provisions of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA).
An investigation involving members of the MCPO Special Victims Bureau and the Howell Township and Marlboro Township police departments was initiated in October 2022, after the victim informed her mother that Cruz, a longtime family friend, had sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions, both at his home in Howell and at her home in Marlboro. Cruz was arrested shortly thereafter, and in October 2023, a Monmouth County Grand Jury returned a six-count superseding indictment against him.
Following a bench trial before Judge English held last fall, Cruz was convicted of first-degree Aggravated Sexual Assault, second-degree Sexual Assault, third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and fourth-degree Stalking, the last charge for secretly placing a camera in the victim’s family home. The 40-year term applied to the Aggravated Sexual Assault charge, while the other counts were merged into the sentence, with the exception of an 18-month consecutive term for the Stalking charge.
This case was prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Dugan of the Special Victims Bureau. Cruz was represented by Shane Paugh, Esq., with an office in Middletown.
After becoming eligible for parole, at which time he would be in his late 80s, Cruz would have to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and be subject to Parole Supervision for Life.
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