NJ Corrections Officer Arrested For Allegedly Posing As Police Officer To Coerce Prostitutes Into Sex For Free
TRENTON, NJ (CBS) – A New Jersey corrections officer has been arrested on charges that he identified himself as a police officer in an attempt to coerce prostitutes into having sex with him – for free.
Juan R. Stevens, a 50-year-old senior corrections officer assigned to the Department of Correction's Central Reception and Assignment Facility in Trenton, was arrested on Thursday on charges of second-degree sexual assault and third-degree criminal restraint for allegedly coercing at least four prostitutes into engaging in sexual acts with him for free. In one instance, Stevens supposedly requested a discount.
Investigators say Stevens supposedly telephoned women who advertised their services online under the name "Rich" or "Rick" to arrange for sexual encounters at hotels in Burlington County and Philadelphia. He would then meet the women for sexual acts and refuse to pay the price, instead insisting he was a police officer and displaying a badge that would make the women fear being arrested.
Officials also say that Stevens sometimes even carried handcuffs in his back pocket.
Stevens was taken into custody on Thursday and is currently being lodged in the Burlington County Jail on $200,000 bail.
