March 29, 2023
FREEHOLD – A Monmouth County Grand Jury has returned a superseding indictment against a man and his girlfriend for jointly attempting to bribe the victim of a violent sexual assault in order to prevent her from cooperating in his prosecution, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Wednesday.
Kareem Lee, 32, and Erin Logan, 31, both of Keyport, are each charged with second-degree Conspiracy and second-degree Bribery of a Witness. Lee remains additionally charged with first-degree Armed Robbery, first-degree Aggravated Sexual Assault, and two related second-degree weapons offenses.
Shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 21, 2022, members of the Tinton Falls Police Department were dispatched to a local motel on Route 33. Upon arrival, the victim told officers that she had been sexually assaulted at gunpoint by a man who had entered her room.
An investigation by members of the MCPO Special Victims Bureau and the Tinton Falls Police Department resulted in Lee being identified as a suspect in the case, and he was located and arrested by members of the Red Bank Police Department in Count Basie Park the next day.
Continued investigation revealed that on various dates in October and November 2022, Lee, Logan, and a third party offered a sum of cash to the victim in exchange for a signed and notarized document in which she would state that she did not wish to pursue the case against Lee. Logan was arrested in December 2022.
Investigators are actively seeking additional information about the activities of these defendants. Anyone with information regarding this matter is asked to contact Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Dawn Correia at 800-533-7443 or Tinton Falls Police Department Officer Christopher Mills at 732-542-4422.
The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Zanzuccki, Director of the Special Victims Bureau. Lee and Logan both remain detained at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI) pending future court proceedings; he is being represented by Michael Kuhns, Esq., with an office in Lawrence Township, while she is represented by Taylor DiBenedetto, Esq., with an office in New Brunswick.
Convictions on first-degree criminal charges can be punishable by up to 20 years in state prison, while second-degree crimes can result in terms of up to 10 years.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.
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