Franklin Man Gets 23 Years For Kidnapping Child, Raping Mother In Highland Park

FRANKLIN, NJ — A Somerset County man was sentenced to serve 23 years in prison for the brutal rape and beating of a Highland Park woman, who had her child with her, in February, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey announced.

As part of the sentencing, Brandon Cox, 23, of the Somerset section of Franklin Township will serve his time in a New Jersey state prison subject to the No Early Release Act. As such, Cox will have to serve 85 percent of the term before he can be released on parole.

Cox admitted to kidnapping the victim’s child, and then attacking the mother, who was sexually assaulted and severely beaten, as part of a plea agreement reached with Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Allysa Gambarella on Monday.

Cox must register as a Megan’s Law sex offender and will also placed on parole supervision for life upon his release from prison.

Police said Cox grabbed the woman as she was walking, showed her a gun and dragged her into the basement of a nearby apartment building, where he punched her repeatedly and then raped her. The woman was walking her child in a stroller at the time of the attack.

The child, reportedly a baby, was unharmed and the woman escaped, running to a neighbor's home on Harper Avenue and pounding on the door. Her face was covered in blood.

The woman was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

• See Related: Somerset County Man Charged In Highland Park Rape

(Image via Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office: Brandon Cox, 23, of the Somerset section of Franklin Township)

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.