Police Implore the Community for Information
September 18, 2020
TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–A sex assault that occurred in Trenton over the summer remains under investigation and police are once again asking the public for assistance with the case.
On July 23, 2020, a 29-year-old woman was walking to work in the early morning hours in the area of S. Broad Street and Chestnut Avenue when she was approached by her attacker. Described as a heavyset black male with dark hair, possibly in his 30s, the suspect forced the victim into a nearby alley where he sexually assaulted her.
The Special Victims units of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the Trenton Police Department have been working for weeks to solve the case. They have surveillance photos of the suspect and have identified a person of interest, and they are certain there are individuals out there that have information, but no one is coming forward to assist the police.
“We are getting calls to the tip line telling us there are people who know who did it. They are giving us drips and drabs and ‘word on the street,’ but we need more,” Mercer County Prosecutor’s SVU Sgt. Joe Paglione said. “We just need that last piece of information to take a dangerous man off of the street and stop this from happening to the next victim.”
“Law enforcement can perform its job so much more effectively when the public and media help,” Prosecutor Onofri stated. “Just recently, following the publication of an article and photo on the arrest of Eridson Rodriguez for sexually assaulting women at two separate gatherings at his apartment, more victims came forward. He now faces charges for assaulting three more victims, and we have information that there are many more out there. This is what can happen when we all work together for justice.”
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the identity of the suspect in the photographs or the case is asked to contact Sergeant Joe Paglione of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at (609) 273-0065 or Sergeant Lisette Rios of the Trenton Police Department SVU at (609) 989-4155.
