Cape May Corrections Officer Charged For Sex Assault Of Minor

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, NJ — A corrections officer at the Cape May County Correctional Facility was charged for sexually assaulting a juvenile female, officials said Tuesday.

Jonathan Perez, 33, was charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland, Sheriff Robert Nolan of the Cape May County Sheriff's Department and New Jersey State Police announced in a joint release.

State police in Woodbine received a report on Feb. 11 that Perez had been sexually assaulting the girl "over an extended period of time," officials said.

That same day, state police and the Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit launched an investigation into the allegations, officials said.

Charges were filed against Perez early Feb. 12, but his location was unknown at the time, according to officials.

He was taken into custody later that day by troopers from the New Jersey State Police Woodbine Barracks and sits in Atlantic County Jail pending court proceedings, officials said.

Perez was also suspended without pay from the Cape May County Correctional Facility pending court, officials said.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone who may have additional information relating to this investigation is asked to contact the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit at 609-465-1135, or anonymously through the Prosecutor’s Office website at cmcpo.tips as well as through the Cape May County Sheriffs Tip Line at cmcsherrif.net and click on anonymous tip, or through the Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-889-3597.