He stalked his 'soulmate'; she lives in fear: Sea Bright ex-cop sentenced to prison.

FREEHOLD — A woman, too frightened to reveal her name in public, stood before a judge Friday and explained how she and her children had to leave their home and couch-surf at the houses of loved ones for months until they could find somewhere to permanently relocate,  all because they didn't feel safe.

She said she was threatened, her car was keyed, her four tires were slashed and her home-security system disabled after she broke up with a man with whom she had a nine-week relationship, the woman said.

Melanie Falco, an assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, said Erich A. Bennett, a 20-year veteran of the Sea Bright police force, told the woman after the breakup that he was "going to cut off her clitoris and slash her face.''

After the woman blocked him on social media, Bennett created a fake Facebook profile and used it to call her a pig, and worse, Falco said.

The victim, who would only identify herself by her initials, told the judge the cost of repairing her car and relocating her family paled in comparison to the toll Bennett's actions took on her family's sense of security.

"The greatest impact has been the fear we feel every day,'' she told Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley.

At Falco's urging, Oxley sentenced the former police officer to five years in prison.

"We all tell our kids from a very young age that police officers, they're the good guys and they're supposed to protect us and keep us safe,'' Falco told the judge.

"This defendant was supposed to protect us from people like him,'' the assistant prosecutor said.

In addition to serving the prison term, Bennett has permanently forfeited his job and right to own firearms and is permanently forbidden to have any contact with the victim, Oxley said.

Bennett, 47, pleaded guilty in September to stalking, criminal mischief, hindering his own apprehension and computer theft. The computer theft was related to his unauthorized use of police computers while on duty to look up information on his ex-girlfriend's friends and family, including men he was jealous of, Falco said.

Bennett contacted one of those men on the guise of wanting to buy a motorcycle helmet from him, in order to try to find out where he lived, Falco said.

Bennett sat in the jury box in the courtroom, dressed in a yellow jail jumpsuit. He looked away from the victim when she spoke.

When it was his turn to address the judge, Bennett said, "When I met her, I just felt on top of the world. She made me happy. I really felt I found my soulmate.

"When she broke it off with me, I just couldn't handle it,'' he said.

Bennett told the judge he has struggled with depression and anxiety for most of his life.

"I literally had a mental breakdown last January,'' he said.

Bennett was arrested and jailed in January, after he had been brought to Monmouth Medical Center for crisis treatment, and a Little Silver police officer earlier reported seeing him on duty, driving past the victim's house in that borough in a Sea Bright patrol car.

The prosecutor's office later agreed to let Bennett out of jail so he could attend a rehabilitation program in Florida.

Bennett was allowed to remain free when he got out of rehab, until he slipped up and violated one of the most important terms of his release - not to have any contact with the victim.

In July, Bennett signed on to the victim's YouTube channel, a move that led not only to his being returned to jail, but to the prosecutor taking back a lucrative plea offer in which he would not have had to go to prison.

"He never should have done it,'' defense attorney Mitchell Ansell said of Bennett signing on to the YouTube channel.

Despite that, Ansell said the almost six months Bennett has spent in jail is sufficient punishment for his crimes. He noted Bennett had an exemplary career and clean record up until that point.

"Respectfully, I believe that is enough,'' Ansell said of the time Bennett has been jailed.

Oxley disagreed.

"I don't know if he's done enough to address those issues, his demons,'' Oxley said, adding he's not confident Bennett won't reoffend.

"This was a violation of the public trust,'' the judge said.

Oxley ordered Bennett to pay $4,780 in restitution to the victim, to compensate her for the damage he did to her property.

"That will be compensation for the physical damage,'' Oxley said.

"I don't think any amount of money could possibly contemplate compensating this victim for the terror that ensued over the long, protracted period of time,'' the judge said. "There's no compensation that is going to be able to bring her back to where she was before this whole nightmare started to unfold and there's nothing that this court can say to give her that peace of mind that she had before this whole unfortunate thing started to unfold.''

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Sea Bright ex-cop Erich A. Bennett goes to prison for stalking