Second Woman Accuses County Corrections Officer Of Sexual Assault

A second victim has come forward to accuse a Mercer County Corrections Officer of sexual assault, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri and Trenton Police Director Ernest Parrey Jr. said on Thursday.

Donald J. Ryland, 44, has been additionally charged with kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated assault. He was previously charged with second-degree sexual assault.

The new charges are related to an incident that took place on Thursday, Oct. 12, at a home on Riverside Avenue. Officers responding to an unknown trouble call reportedly found a woman suffering a visible laceration and swelling of her left eye.

As in the previous incident, she said she got into his car and was driven to an unknown area. When they arrived, and she got out of the car and reached the porch, she said the man grabbed her by the throat, put her in a headlock, struck her head against the porch and punched her in the head before sexually assaulting her and fleeing the area. She then described the man who assaulted her.

In the previous incident, which is said to have taken place six days earlier, the victim said he drove her from the area of South Broad Street in Trenton to Cadwalader Park. When they arrived at Cadwalader Park, she got out of the car. He then ran after her, knocked her over and sexually assaulted her, authorities said. She was able to flee the area and find refuge with two guards at a park security gate.

He was arrested in connection with the first incident on Sunday, after she spotted his car in Trenton and reported him to police. Police then issued a broadcast. Ryland’s car was stopped on Adeline Street in Trenton, and he was arrested. A detention hearing for Ryland is scheduled for Oct. 25.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on these cases should contact Mercer County Prosecutor’s SVU Detective Anthony Petracca at 609-989-6424 or Trenton Police Detective Laurel Rogers at 609-989-4155.

The attached image of Donald J. Ryland was previously provided by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office