RECORD IMPOUNDED NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3. SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-3033-17T4 STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. JULIUS AHEEBWA, Defendant-Appellant. __________________________ Submitted February 13, 2019 – Decided October 15, 2019 Before Judges Fuentes and Vernoia. On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Hudson County, Indictment No. 16-02-0183. Howard P. Lesnik, attorney for appellant. Esther Suarez, Hudson County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (Jaimee M. Chasmer, Assistant Prosecutor, on the brief). The opinion of the court was delivered by FUENTES, P.J.A.D. In this child sexual assault case, we are asked to determine whether the trial judge erred when he: (1) denied defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea entered pursuant to a negotiated agreement with the State; (2) denied defendant's motion to suppress incriminating statements he gave to the detectives who were investigating the allegations of sexual abuse; and (3) granted the State's motion to admit the testimony of the child's mother and older brother pursuant to N.J.R.E. 803(c)(27). After reviewing the record developed before the trial court and in light of prevailing legal standards, we affirm. A Hudson County grand jury indicted defendant Julius Aheebwa, charging him with first degree aggravated sexual assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(a), second degree sexual assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(b), second degree endangering the welfare of a child, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4(a); and fourth degree child abuse, N.J.S.A. 9:6-1 and N.J.S.A. 9:6-3. The victim, M.O. (Maura), 1 was eight years old at the time of the assault. Defendant resided in a basement apartment in the same multi-family building where the victim resided with her family. Defendant babysat the victim and her two siblings between four and six in the evening while their mother was at work. 1 We use a pseudonym to refer to the victim to protect her privacy and preserve the confidentiality of these proceedings. N.J.S.A. 2A:82-46(a); R. 1:38-3(c)(9). A-3033-17T4 2 At approximately 8:00 p.m. on September 14, 2015, the Jersey City Police Department contacted detectives from the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, Special Victims Unit (SVU), to report the abuse. SVU detectives interviewed the child and her mother on September 15, 2015. In a report filed at approximately 6:00 p.m. on September 14, 2015, SVU Detective Kristen Mikulak documented Maura's account of how the assault occurred. Defendant, whom Maura referred to as "Uncle Julius," lured the child into his bedroom by telling her she could use his four-year-old daughter's IPad. Once Maura was in defendant's basement apartment, Maura claimed he "started asking her questions about having a boyfriend and kissing." When Maura was inside defendant's bedroom: "Uncle Julius pulled up her skirt and took off her underwear and used his hand to touch her vagina. [Maura] demonstrated [how] Uncle Julius rubbed her vagina with his ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals