A Plainfield man was arrested early this morning after being criminally charged with sexually assaulting a woman during a home invasion in Westfield on Tuesday, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel and Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro jointly announced Friday.
Officials said Mr. Terence Rhue, 22, is charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, first-degree robbery, second-degree burglary, third-degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon in connection with the attack on a female resident.
Westfield Police Department patrol units responded to the area Forest and Longfellow Avenues at approximately 12:50 p.m. on Tuesday in response to a report of a sexual assault by an armed intruder, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Caroline Lawlor, who is prosecuting the case.
An exhaustive investigation led by the Union County Special Victims Unit and the Westfield Police Department, and assisted by the Union County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations Intelligence Center (R.O.I.C.), as well as the Plainfield, Scotch Plains and Fanwood Police Departments, resulted in the identification of Rhue as the suspect and led to his eventual capture and arrest.
“We are grateful for the collaboration with the local and state law enforcement agencies who assisted our office in quickly locating and apprehending the suspect,” Prosecutor Daniel said.
Rhue is currently being held in the Union County Jail pending a First Appearance.
Anyone with information about this matter is still urged to contact Prosecutor’s Office Detective Annie Coll, at 908-347-2474 or Westfield Police Department Detective Betsy Savnik at 908-789-6078.
Convictions on crimes of this nature are commonly punishable by terms of up to twenty years in state prison.
These criminal charges are mere accusations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.