Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Teen At Keansburg Beach, Police Say

A Camden man has been arrested by Keansburg Police on charges he sexually assaulted a 15-year old girl on the Keansburg beach on Friday.

Victor Bennett, 20, of Park Boulevard in Camden was arrested by police who quickly set up a perimeter upon word of an alleged assault.  

The teen was transported to Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel for her injuries. 

Ptl. Thomas Sheehan and Richard Johnson of the Bike Patrol Unit were on patrol in the area of east bay walk at Main Street and Beachway Avenue when they say a relative of the victim stopped them to report that she had just come home, in a visibly shaken state. The family thought she had been assaulted, Deputy Chief Michael Pigott said in a news release. 

Det. Michael Deany and Ptl. Christopher Rogan of the Street Crimes Unit headed to the victim's home to interview her, while patrols zoned in on the area of Keansburg Beach, from Twilight Avenue to Main Street. Fifteen minutes later, police say, Patrolmen Thomas Sheehan and Richard Johnson arrested Bennett in the parking lot of a condominium complex on Beachway and took him into custody.

Police say Bennett gave a fictitious name, but at headquarters a fingerprint scan confirmed his identity. Bennett is wanted out of the Camden County Prosecutor’s office on aggravated assault and weapons charges, police said. 

Bennett was charged aggravated sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal restraint in connection to the July 18 incident. Deputy Chief Pigott told Patch the girl was 15 years old. 

Bail was set at $400,000 with no 10% and Bennett was transported to Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold. 

Assisting in the investigation were Det. Jason Lopez, Ptl. Frank Wood, Justin Cocuzza and James Koempel.

Bennett was incarcerated for three years for weapons offenses at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Yardville, and was released on May 23, according to the NJ Dept. of Corrections.

An arrest is not a conviction, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.