Raritan man pleads guilty to sex assaults in Bridgewater, Franklin parks
A Raritan Borough man will be sentenced to 16 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty Sept. 8 to sexual assaults in Duke Island Park in Bridgewater and along the Delaware and Raritan Canal in Franklin.
Rogelio Calyeca Postrero, 38, must serve 85% of the 16-year sentence before becoming eligible for parole as part of his plea agreement, Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald said. Postrero also will be subject to the registration and reporting requirements of Megan’s Law and parole supervision for life for the two counts of aggravated sexual assault.
At about 9:07 p.m. July 18, 2021, Bridgewater police received a 911 call of a sexual assault in Duke Island Park.
Officers met with the woman who reported being sexually assaulted by an unknown man while riding her bike in the park.
The victim told police that the man came up behind her, held a knife to her throat and asked for money.
After handing over her money, the woman said the man sexually assaulted her in nearby bushes and then fled on his bicycle towards Raritan.
Ten months later, at about 6:03 p.m. May 16, 2022, Franklin police responded to a 911 call of a sexual assault on a park trail near Blackwells Mills Road and Canal Road.
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The woman told police she was was running on the trail when an unknown man got off his bicycle and tackled her to the ground.
The victim was able to fight her attacker and escape from the assault. The suspect fled the area on a bicycle and the victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment and released.
Police from Franklin, Hillsborough, Montgomery and South Brunswick established a perimeter to nab the suspect but were unsuccessful.
The break in the case came at about 9:06 a.m. Aug. 4, 2022, when Raritan Borough Police received a 911 call of a man by the Nevius Street Bridge possibly masturbating in public. Police made contact with Postrero, who matched the description of the suspect by the 911 caller.
Postrero was arrested and charged with lewdness. The investigation also found that Postrero was using fraudulent identification for employment purposes in Somerset County and he was charged with two counts of third-degree degree knowingly exhibiting false documents.
Further investigation found that Postrero resembled both the New Jersey State Police composite sketches and descriptions of the sexual assault suspect in Franklin and Bridgewater.
A search of Postero's home found more evidence, including a bicycle that matched the description of the bicycle given by the sexual assault victims, McDonald said.
In addition, analysis by the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences Central Regional Laboratory confirmed Postrero’s DNA matched the profile obtained from the victims of the sexual assaults, the prosecutor said.
McDonald thanked Chief Raymond Nolte and members of the Raritan Borough Police Department, Chief John B. Mitzak and members of the Bridgewater Township Police Department, Public Safety Director Quovella M. Maeweather and members of the Franklin Township Police Department, the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences Central Regional Laboratory, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Franklin Township Resident Agency for their assistance in this investigation.
McDonald also commended the private citizen who notified Raritan Borough Police of the act of lewdness which led authorities to the Postero's apprehension.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Raritan man pleads guilty to sex assaults in Bridgewater, Franklin
