Man Accused of Highland Park Rape Charged With Sex Assault In Past

HIGHLAND PARK, NJ - The young man charged with beating and raping a woman in Highland Park February 19 — while she was out walking her baby in a stroller — has been charged with sexual assault before.

Brandon O. Cox, 23, was previously charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 2014. As Patch reported at the time, the alleged sex assaults happened over an extended period of time and occurred while Cox was living in South Brunswick. Cox was 20 at the time. The victim, accompanied by her mother, told Franklin police that between March 2013 and April 2014, Cox threatened her into sexual situations on four separate occasions. All the alleged sex assaults happened at her Franklin Township home.

His 2014 mugshot was released by the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and can be seen here:

As part of a deal he made with the Somerset County prosecutor's office, Cox pleaded guilty to charges of child abuse and neglect, NJ.com reported. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail; however, he had already served much of that time while being held on a $50,000 cash-only bail awaiting trial. He was released from the Somerset County jail on Aug. 2, 2016, just a few days after his sentencing. He served close to 15 months of his 18-month sentence.

But Cox was arrested anew this week: At 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 19 of this year, he is accused of attacking a 36-year-old Highland Park woman as she was out walking with her baby in a stroller. He 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, officials said. The woman's 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 and both she and the child were brought to a nearby hospital.

The charges brought against him in the alleged Highland Park incident are very serious, including attempted murder: Cox has been charged with counts of 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.

Cox did not have to register was a sex offender in 2014, NJ.com reported.

He is currently in the Middlesex County jail awaiting bail to be set; he is scheduled to appear at 9:30 a.m. in front of Superior Court Judge Alberto Rivas on Friday for the Highland Park sex assault. That's his 2016 mugshot above, released by the Middlesex County prosecutor's office after he was charged with the Highland Park sex assault.

Past Patch reporting:

South Brunswick Man Arrested For Sexual Assault, Threatening 14-Year-Old Girl

Arrest Made In Highland Park Sex Assault

Highland Park On Edge After Sex Assault in Town