Crime & Safety

DNA Links Prison Guard to Another Sex Assault, Authorities Say

Juan Stevens, of Burlington City, was already charged with posing as a cop to coerce prostitutes into having sex with him for free, according to authorities.

DNA evidence has led to new sexual assault charges against a Burlington City man who allegedly posed as a police officer to coerce prostitutes into having free sex with him at multiple locations, including hotels in Maple Shade and Westampton, authorities said Thursday.

According to the state Attorney General's Office, Juan Stevens sexually assaulted a woman on May 23, 2011 at a motel in Mansfield. He allegedly wore a uniform and displayed a badge to the victim, then used physical force and threatening behavior to make the woman perform oral sex and have sexual intercourse with him, without a condom, authorities said. The woman called the Mansfield Police Department to report she had been raped and was taken to the hospital, where DNA evidence was taken. The evidence allegedly matched the DNA sample taken from Stevens following his arrest in March.

"This DNA hit, which enabled us to solve an open case, highlights the importance of our new law mandating testing of those arrested for violent crimes,” said Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa, referencing a new state new law requiring DNA sampling of all persons arrested for violent crimes, including sexual assault. "Experience teaches us that violent criminals, including sex offenders, often commit multiple crimes, as this defendant allegedly did. The new law will help us lock up repeat offenders and protect the public."

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This marks the first time the state has filed charges as a result of a DNA hit against a suspect who was entered into the Combined DNA Index System, under the new law. 

Stevens, who is suspended without pay from his job as a senior correction officer at the Department of Correction’s Central Reception and Assignment Facility in Trenton, was charged Thursday with new counts of second-degree sexual assault and third-degree criminal restraint, in addition to the other charges brought against him when he was arrested in March. 

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When Stevens was arrested in March, bail was set at $200,000, which he posted. He surrendered to detectives Thursday at the State Police Bordentown Station to be processed on the new charges. He remains free on bail.

For additional details on the latest charges against Stevens, visit the Attorney General's website here.


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