A police officer in New Jersey has been accused of stalking, restraining, and attempting to kiss an underage girl he reportedly met during a “National Night Out” event.
The National Night Out is an event thrown by local governments across the country to help build relationships between the community and its first responders.
However prosecutors say that Manalapan Township Police Department Officer Kevin Ruditsky began pursuing a girl he met on 1 August at the event.
The officer reportedly let the girl sit in his patrol car, and at some point obtained her contact information. Prosecutors have accused him of sending the girl sexually explicit messages and photos on social media shortly after meeting her.
Mr Ruditsky is 46. The alleged victim is 16-years-old.
The harassment allegedly continued after the National Night Out. The officer reportedly pulled the girl over while she was driving, placed her in handcuffs, and then tried to kiss her.
Prosecutors said he disabled both his dash cam and bodycamera while he was trying to kiss the teenager.
The officer allegedly waited for the girl outside of her house, which he found by accessing law enforcement databases, prosecutors claim.
“That a sworn member of law enforcement would begin to so egregiously violate the public’s trust while in uniform at an event specifically intended to strengthen trust between law enforcement and the public is, in a word, unconscionable,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said.
Mr Ruditsky was arrested on Wednesday and charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, official misconduct and stalking.
Manalapan Township Police Chief Edward Niesz confirmed the officer was suspended without pay.
“We are deeply saddened and disturbed that this victim had her trust betrayed by a man wearing one of our uniforms,” the chief said.
