Caregiver Videoed Sex Assaults On Wheelchair-Bound Woman, NJ Prosecutor Says

WESTFIELD, NJ — A 41-year-old Westfield man has been charged after sexually assaulting a handicapped woman in her home on numerous occasions, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said.

Michael W. Smith, who employed as the woman's caregiver, is charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and third-degree aggravated criminal sexual conduct.

Between December 2023 and June 2024, Smith allegedly sexually assaulted the woman on multiple occasions, according to a criminal complaint.

The Rochelle Park Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit on Jan. 18 regarding the alleged assault.

The woman, in her statement to authorities, said someone sent her videos of herself through an electronic messaging service that showed her incapacitated while he performed sexual acts on her.

She was recovering from an accident and bound to a wheelchair at the time, unable to take care of herself, court documents showed. The woman was able to identify Smith and told authorities he was her caretaker when the videos were filmed.

Smith was arrested on Jan. 29 in the Town of Westfield and taken to the Bergen County Jail to await a detention hearing.

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