Man Indicted In Sex Assault Of Wall Nursing Home Patient: Prosecutor

FREEHOLD, NJ — A certified nursing assistant has been indicted on charges he sexually assaulted a nursing home patient in Wall Township in 2015, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced Friday.

Todd Fulton, 43, of Hazlet, was indicted on one count each of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, and second-degree official misconduct, said Charles Webster, spokesman for the prosecutor's office. Fulton also had an address in Toms River, according to the indictment released by the prosecutor's office.

The charges stem from a joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Special Victim’s Bureau and Wall Township Police Department, Webster said. The investigation began April 4, 2015, when administrative staff at the Geraldine Thompson Nursing Home in Wall reported to township police an elderly female patient said she had been sexually assaulted by a member of the staff, Webster said.

The victim was not able to identity of the staff member at the time she reported the assault on April 3, Webster said. Fulton was identified as her alleged assailant through an investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and New Jersey State Police Forensic Laboratory and Wall Township police, he said. At the time of the assault, Geraldine Thompson Nursing home was owned and operated by the County of Monmouth, and Fulton was employed there as a certified nursing assistant, Webster said.

Fulton is currently lodged in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township.

Fulton faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the aggravated sexual assault charge, up to 10 years on the second-degree sexual assault charge, with a requirement to serve 85 percent of the sentence before he is eligible for parole, Webster said. The official misconduct charge carries a potential for up to 10 years in prison with 5 years parole ineligibility, he said.

The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fichter. Fulton is represented by Joseph Compitello, Esq., of Tinton Falls.

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