The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Update: Cox pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault, according to a published report.
Cox in October will be sentenced to 23 years in prison, must register as a Meagan’s Law offender and faces parole for life, according to the report in the Highland Park Planet.
Original Story: A 23-year-old township man faces 16 charges – including attempted murder – in connection with the beating and sexual assault at gunpoint of a Highland Park woman.
Brandon Cox of Somerset was charged by authorities with kidnapping, attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact, armed robbery, burglary, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering the welfare of a child, and endangering an injured victim in connection with the Feb. 19 attack, according to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Cox was originally arrested last week on an unrelated charge and was subsequently charged with the alleged assault, according to the release.
According to the release, the woman was walking with a child on Harper Avenue in the borough when Cox allegedly approached her, displayed a weapon and forced her into the basement of a nearby apartment building. It was there, authorities say, where Cox sexually assaulted the woman and repeatedly punched her before fleeing.
Police were called by a Harper Avenue resident after the victim ran to their house after the attack, according to the release.
The victim was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment, according to the release.
Leading the investigation were Detective Sean McGraw of the Highland Park Police Department and Detective Allie Bitterman of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, according to the release.
The investigation is active and is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective McGraw of the Highland Park Police Department at (723) 572-3800, or Detective Bitterman of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-4401.
