Newark Man Raped Irvington Victim, Possibly 3 Others: Prosecutors

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A Newark man has been found guilty of several criminal charges after he raped a 21-year-old Irvington resident nearly a decade ago, prosecutors recently announced.

An Essex County jury has convicted Kervin Joseph-Michel, 43, of kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, among other charges, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday.

Joseph-Michel’s DNA also matched profiles obtained from evidence in three other unsolved sexual assault cases that took place in Irvington and Newark. Trials are pending on those cases, prosecutors said.

Authorities released harrowing details about the sexual assault, which took place on Nov. 4, 2015 in Irvington as the victim was walking home and carrying her three-week-old infant son.

According to prosecutors:

“The victim recalled that the defendant repeatedly tried to engage her in conversation, but she rejected his advances and continued walking home, unaware that he was following her. Once in her backyard, Joseph-Michel placed what he said was a gun to her back and forced her into the foyer of the home, where he sexually assaulted her while holding what was later determined to be a knife to her body.”

According to the victim, she had to put her infant son on the floor during the attack. The woman feared that he might cry – and that Joseph-Michel would turn his attention to him, she said.

But when she heard her boyfriend’s car approach the home, Joseph-Michel’s victim came up with a plan. Here’s what happened next, prosecutors said.

“She asked [Joseph-Michel] to let her close the still-open door leading to the backyard. When he stepped back to allow her to get up, she grabbed her son from the floor and ran out the door to her boyfriend. [Joseph-Michel] followed and lunged at her boyfriend with the knife. During the ensuing struggle, the victim’s boyfriend disarmed [Joseph-Michel], who then fled the scene on foot.”

Both the forensic examination of the victim and the crime scene investigation revealed that the defendant’s DNA matched the profile obtained from swabs taken during her examination, and also matched blood on the knife that Joseph-Michel left at the scene, authorities said.

An Essex County jury found Joseph-Michel guilty on six counts on Feb. 7 – nearly a decade after the rape took place: first-degree kidnapping, first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree aggravated assault, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and third-degree criminal restraint.

“This verdict is a testament to the extraordinary courage and strength of the victim and her boyfriend, whose resolve never faltered as they waited patiently for all these years to confront the defendant in court,” deputy chief assistant prosecutor Celeste Montesino said.

The case was jointly investigated by the Irvington Police Department and by members of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 19. Joseph-Michel faces a potential 15 to 30 years in prison for the kidnapping charge, and 10 to 20 years for the aggravated sexual assault charges, prosecutors said.

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