MONTVILLE — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Montville Township Police Chief Rudolph Appelmann announce that Maurice Pearson, 26, Irvington, has been charged with one count of second degree Aggravated Assault (2C:12-1(b)(1)), and one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (2C:24-4a(2)) for assaulting a three year old child.
Pearson was also charged with one count of third degree Aggravated Assault (2C:12-1(b)(7)) for injuring a female victim (Age 25). An additional count of third degree Hindering (2C:29-3(b)(4) was charged for providing false information to law enforcement.
The defendant and the adult female victim were in a dating relationship when the assault occurred. The injured child is the female victim’s son.
Fairfield Police Department officers were the first to respond to the report of an assault at the Knights Inn, 55 Route 46 in Pine Brook (Montville Township) at approximately 2:45 p.m. The child and his mother were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The child sustained serious injuries and remains hospitalized. The child’s mother was treated and released.
Pearson was detained at the scene by officers of the Montville Police Department and subsequently arrested. The Honorable Andrew W. Wubbenhorst set bail at $100,000 no 10 percent, cash, bond or property. The defendant will be remanded to the Morris County Correctional Facility.
Prosecutor Fredric Knapp would like to thank the Montville Police Department, members of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office – Criminal Investigation Section, and the Fairfield Police Department whose efforts contributed to this arrest.
The investigation is active and ongoing. No other information is being released at this time.
A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. Despite this accusation, the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until he or she has been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
