Officer Robert Melia Jr. sexual assault of three minors

[WaTcHeR]

An officer of the Moorestown police department and his former girlfriend have been charged for the alleged sexual assault of three minors in a series of incidents since 2003. Officer Robert Melia Jr., 38, of 126 Cottage Ave. in Moorestown and Heather Lewis, 32, of 264 Stock-ton's Bridge Rd. in Pemberton Township, were each charged with three counts of first degree aggravated sexual assault and one count of second degree sexual assault, the Burlington County Prose-cutor's office announced this week.

Moorestown Police Department officials are not involved in the investigation and referred request for comment to the Burlington County Pros-ector's office.

Melia, was apprehended without incident at the Moorestown Police Department on April 12, and has been suspended from duty following his arrest, authorities said.

Lewis was arrested at the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office earlier that day.

Melia, a patrolman, is currently being held on $500,000 bail at the Burlington County Jail in Mt. Holly, authorities said. Lewis is being held on $300,000 bail at the Women's Detention Center located in Pemberton Township.

If convicted, Melia and Lewis could face 60 years in state prison, authorities said.

"The next step is that investigators review the evidence and present it to a Burlington County grand jury," said Kevin Morgan, an assistant country prosecutor who is handling the

Authorities began their investigation on April 10 after the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office Child Abuse - Sexual Assault Unit was contacted by a Burlington County Municipal police to report the sexual assault of a minor.

It was reported by police that the victim revealed to her step-father that she had been involved in a series of sexual assaults that had been committed by the defendants between August of 2007 and January of 2008, authorities said.

Further investigation revealed that two additional victims, both minors, also said they'd been sexually assaulted by both defendants in 2003 and 2004, authorities said.

During interviews, the victims confirmed that both of the defendants sexually assaulted them several years earlier, authorities said.

Jack Smith, spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor, said Melia was employed as a police officer at the time of the alleged sexual assualts.

Morgan said that the incidents had occurred at Melia's home on Cottage Avenue. A search warrant was issued on April 12 to search Melia's residence, where detectives seized pornographic material and Melia's computer.

Due to the nature of the charges, specific details regarding the assaults, including any additional information on the victims, will not be released to maintain their anonymity and to protect the integrity of the investigation, according to the Burlington County Prose-cutor's Office.

Morgan said that investigators are reviewing the material and checking for additional victims.

The defendants appeared before a superior court judge Monday.

Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to call the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office at (609) 265-5035.

http://www.southjerseylocalnews.com/Web ... ry_1985322

[WaTcHeR]

Officer Robert Melia Jr.

MOUNT HOLLY - New charges of sex acts with cows have been brought against a Moorestown policeman who last week was charged with sexually assaulting three girls.

Officer Robert Melia Jr., 38, of Moorestown, remained in Burlington County Jail on Tuesday with bail of $510,000.

Superior Court Judge John Almeida raised Melia's bail $10,000 as a result of the addition of four charges of cruelty to animals, which is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

Kevin Morgan, an assistant county prosecutor, said in court Tuesday that the cruelty charges involve sex acts with cows between June and December 2006
at an undisclosed location in Southampton.

Melia and his former girlfriend are charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual contact on three girls at his home between 2003 and 2006. The ex-girlfriend, Heather Lewis, 32, of the 200 block of Stocktons Bridge Road, Pemberton Township, remains in jail on $300,000 bail.


http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/p ... 1/80422047

[WaTcHeR]

MOUNT HOLLY — A suspended Moorestown police officer pleaded innocent yesterday to sexually assaulting three girls on multiple occasions over the past eight years.

Robert Melia Jr., 38, also pleaded innocent to charges of official misconduct and animal cruelty. He appeared in court with his attorney, but said nothing.

Last month, Melia was indicted with his former girlfriend, Heather Lewis, 33, of Pemberton Township on multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact, criminal sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a child, sexual assault and one count of invasion of privacy.

Lewis pleaded innocent last week.

Lewis and Melia are due back in Superior Court before Judge Thomas S. Smith, Jr. in January. If convicted of all charges, both face life in prison.

The 45-count indictment stems from incidents with three girls at Melia's Cottage Avenue home in Moorestown between June 2000 and January 2008, authorities said.

Also, authorities allege Melia engaged in sex acts with cows at an undisclosed location in Southampton in 2006. According to court document, investigators found video of the incident and other pornographic materials when they searched Melia's house in April.

Melia is free on $410,000 bail. Lewis remains in custody at the county's Minimum Security Facility in Pemberton on $300,000 bail.

The Moorestown Police Department suspended Melia, a patrolman, immediately after his arrest in April. He has been with the department since 2000.


http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/ ... 23316.html

[WaTcHeR]

Officer Robert Melia Jr.


If animals could talk, a few cows in Burlington County might ask state legislators to hurry up and outlaw bestiality.

During a bizarre hearing there yesterday, a Superior Court judge dismissed animal-cruelty charges against a Moorestown police officer accused of sticking his penis into the mouths of five calves in rural Southampton in 2006, claiming a grand jury couldn't infer whether the cows had been "tormented" or "puzzled" by the situation or even irritated that they'd been duped out of a meal.

"If the cow had the cognitive ability to form thought and speak, would it say, 'Where's the milk? I'm not getting any milk,' " Judge James J. Morley asked.

Children, Morley said, seemed "comforted" when given pacifiers, but there's no way to know what bovine minds thought of Officer Robert Melia Jr. substituting his member for a cow's teat.

"They [children] enjoy the act of suckling," the judge said. "Cows may be of a different disposition."

Burlington County Assistant County Prosecutor Kevin Morgan was certainly irritated by the ruling, claiming the grand jury didn't see the videos of the alleged incident, including one in which one hungry calf allegedly head-butts Melia in the stomach.

"I think any reasonable juror could infer that a man's penis in the mouth of a calf is torment," Morgan argued. "It's a crime against nature."

Although a bill was introduced in 2005 to ban bestiality, New Jersey still has no explicit ban on the sexual penetration of animals, which is why the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office charged Melia with animal cruelty.

Morley said it was questionable whether Melia's alleged crimes against cows, although "disgusting," fit the definitions in the animal-cruelty statute.

"I'm not saying it's OK," Morley said. "This is a legal question for me. It's not a questions of morals. It's not a question of hygiene. It's not a question of how people should conduct themselves."

Sex with cows is the least of Melia's problems, though.

He and former girlfriend, Heather Lewis, of Pemberton Township, are also accused of sexually assaulting three young girls over a five-year period, sometimes in Melia's Cottage Avenue home in Moorestown, where he was a patrolman, authorities said.

Melia has been suspended from the force, said a spokesman with the Prosecutor's Office.

Melia and Lewis were both arrested in April 2008, shortly after one of the girls told her stepfather of the alleged abuse.

During the course of the investigation, authorities also discovered child pornography on Melia's home computer as well as videos of him with the cows.

Morley also ruled yesterday that the prosecution must turn over copies of images and videos from the computer to the defense, including one video that allegedly shows one of the girls being "subjected to sexual activity."

Lewis, who also appeared in court yesterday, is also accused of sexually assaulting a juvenile male. Morley denied a defense motion to have Lewis's individual sexual assaults separated from Melia's case.

Melia, Lewis and their attorneys declined to comment after the hearing.

Morgan, the prosecutor, said in court that the owner of the cows was "very upset" by the incident.


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