Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that a former state assistant family services worker has been indicted on charges of official misconduct and sexual assault for allegedly using his position to have sex with two women he was responsible for transporting and supervising in connection with court-ordered child visitation sessions.
The Division of Criminal Justice obtained a state grand jury indictment on Friday, Dec. 2, charging Lamont King, 40, of Trenton, with two counts of official misconduct (2nd degree), one count of pattern of official misconduct (2nd degree), two counts of bribery in official matters (2nd degree), one count of sexual assault (2nd degree), and one count of tampering with public records or information (3rd degree).
King was formerly an assistant family services worker in the Department of Children and Families, Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP). In that position, he had various duties, including the transportation of clients, both adults and children, to and from court-scheduled visits, and supervision of such visits. His responsibilities included writing reports and making recommendations to the department and court.
The indictment alleges King used his position to have sexual relations with two DCPP clients on multiple occasions in 2015 and 2016. He was suspended without pay as a result of the allegations and later terminated by the department.
The Code of Ethics of the Department of Children and Families, to which all employees must adhere, prohibits department employees from establishing any improper relationship with a person who is being supervised or served as a client of the department.
King’s alleged conduct against one DCPP client allegedly occurred in March and April 2016 as he transported her to and from court-ordered visits with her young son, who was in DCPP custody and had been placed in a foster home. The mother was seeking to regain custody.
Part of King’s role was to write reports about the interactions between parent and child during these visits, which could be used by a judge to assess whether and when the parent would regain custody of the child. The mother was aware King had this authority, and he allegedly told her that if she trusted him, he could make the visits go well and recommend that visits occur at a park or restaurant instead of a state office.
During one visit, King allegedly told the victim he wanted to have a relationship with her and made sexually explicit comments. After the child was returned to the foster home, he allegedly drove to a secluded area, where he allegedly kissed and groped the victim. She told detectives that she was upset and angry, but did not resist because she feared that she would not be believed if she reported King and that he could impact her ability to regain custody of her son. He allegedly told her not to tell her case worker anything.
After the next visit, King allegedly drove the victim to a motel in Pennsylvania, where he had sexual intercourse with her. The victim told detectives she again felt like she had to do what King wanted because she feared that if she didn’t, he could negatively affect her visits with her children and she would not be able to get custody of her son. The victim canceled two later visits with her son when King was scheduled to transport her, and she subsequently asked to be transported by a female family services worker. She reported her allegations to her case worker in early May. The Department of Children and Families referred the case to the Division of Criminal Justice and State Police for investigation. King was initially charged by complaint in connection with that victim in June.
King’s alleged conduct with the second victim occurred in late 2015 and early 2016 as he drove her to visits with her children, who were in a foster home. During the first visits, he allegedly complimented her appearance and body inappropriately. During a subsequent visit, as he drove the woman to meet her children, King allegedly told the victim that he wrote reports about her visits with her children and had the power to allow the visits to be unsupervised. He then allegedly unfastened his pants and placed the woman’s hand on his genitals, instructing her to stimulate him if she wanted unsupervised visits. The woman allegedly complied and he allegedly allowed her to have an unsupervised visit with her children at a mall. He allegedly falsified his report to indicate he supervised the visit. King allegedly repeated his request to be manually stimulated by the mother after dropping off her children. The victim told detectives she was upset, but was afraid nobody would believe her if she reported King to the state.
King allegedly continued to have the woman engage in this sexual conduct on later visits and eventually demanded that she perform oral sex on him, suggesting that if she did not do it, he could negatively impact her visits with her children. As a result, the victim allegedly performed oral sex on King. This is the basis for the sexual assault charge. She later told him that she did not want to perform oral sex any more, but he allegedly threatened her visits again. Because of that, the victim allegedly performed oral sex several times on subsequent visits. In March 2016, King allegedly told the woman he wanted to have sexual intercourse with her and drove her to a park in his own car after a visit with her children. He allegedly removed the woman’s pants and underwear and touched her, but she refused to have sexual intercourse. King failed to appear for the woman’s next scheduled visit with her children, and the woman told her case worker she did not want King to transport her any longer.
Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. The second-degree charges of official misconduct, pattern of official misconduct, and bribery carry a mandatory minimum period of five years of parole ineligibility.
The third-degree charge of tampering with public records or information carries a sentence of three to five years in prison, including a mandatory two-year period of parole ineligibility, and a fine of up to $15,000.
The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier in Mercer County, who assigned the case to Mercer County, where King will be ordered to appear at a later date for arraignment. King was arrested on a warrant Friday evening after the indictment was filed, and he was lodged in the Mercer County Jail with bail set at $75,000.
Attorney General Porrino and Director Honig urged anyone with information about this defendant or other suspected official misconduct to contact the Division of Criminal Justice’s toll-free tipline 1-866-TIPS-4CJ to report it confidentially.
The public also can log on to the Division of Criminal Justice webpage at www.njdcj.org to report suspected criminal conduct confidentially.