NJ Man Raped Child On His Wife's Cheer Squad; Wife Tried To Protect Him: Officials

MANTUA, NJ — A Gloucester County man is facing upgraded charges regarding the sexual assaults of an underage girl who his wife coached in cheerleading, authorities said Wednesday.

Michael Brown's wife, Valerie Brown, is accused of failing to protect the victim while knowing that her husband repeatedly took the child to a motel, where he sexually assaulted her, according to court documents. She also interfered with the investigation, officials said.

The victim, now an adult, came forward to Mantua police in December and said she was sexually assaulted as a child. Michael Brown sexually assaulted her on more than 10 occasions from 2018-20, police said.

Michael and Valerie Brown, both of Mantua, were arrested days later on charges related to the allegations. Read more: Man Raped Child At South Jersey Motel; His Wife Told Her To Drop It: Court Docs

On several occasions, Michael Brown drove the child to a Best Western motel, where he sexually assaulted her, according to a criminal complaint. He also sexually abused her at different locations in Mantua and Woodbury, the complaint states.

Police revealed Wednesday that the victim was part of the Harrison Sparks — a youth cheerleading squad based in Mullica Hill. Valerie Brown was the coach and organization president during the period of her husband's assaults, police said.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the Harrison Sparks are still active or whether Valerie Brown is still affiliated. Patch emailed the organization but didn't immediately get a response.

Valerie Brown knew about the motel visits, which police corroborated with bank statements, according to court documents.

At one point, Valerie contacted the victim and said that the sexual conversations Michael had with her were a joke, the complaint states. She then told the victim to erase the conversations and never contact her husband again, according to the complaint.

This past week, police executed search warrants on the suspects' cell phones. Michael Brown's charges were upgraded as a result.

Michael Brown, 46, was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault. He's also been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, sexual assault and criminal sexual contact.

He was jailed in December but has since been released from pretrial detention, according to online court records.

Michael's attorney, Ken Aita, told Patch, "I have not had the opportunity to review any of the discovery materials yet. This case is brand new, so I really don't have a comment."

Valerie Brown, 44, was charged in December with third-degree counts of endangering the welfare of a child and hindering apprehension or prosecution.

Her listed attorney did not immediately return comment to Patch.

Michael Brown's next-scheduled court appearance is a Feb. 5 pre-indictment conference. Valerie Brown is slated to return to court March 5 for the same.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information can contact Gregory Sweeney of the Mantua Township Police Department at gmsweeney@mantuatownship.com.