ROBBINSVILLE: Resident indicted on alleged sex assault of 12-year-old

By Joanne Degnan, Managing Editor
   TRENTON — Robbinsville resident Darren Maglione has been indicted on aggravated sexual assault charges in a 2009 case involving a 12-year-old girl.
   A Mercer County grand jury returned the indictment Friday against Mr. Maglione, 40, of Windswept Drive, charging him with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, three-counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of child, according to the prosecutor’s office.
   Mr. Maglione is accused of having engaged in sexual conduct with the child at different times and locations over a six-month period in 2009. Mr. Maglione posted $300,000 bail following his arrest in November 2010.
   Last month, Mr. Maglione’s bail was temporarily revoked for four days following his arrest for allegedly violating a restraining order, stalking and harassing the now 14-year-old girl as she jogged in Hamilton. His attorney succeeded in getting his bail reinstated May 24, and he was released.
   Casey DeBlasio, a spokesperson for the Mercer County prosecutor’s office, said Monday that the prosecution had filed a motion with the court seeking to increase Mr. Maglione’s bail in the wake of the grand jury indictment. No court date had been set as of press time.
   Ms. DeBlasio said a first-degree aggravated sexual assault charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The second-degree sexual assault charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years, and the third-degree endangering charge carries a sentence of up to five years.
   There are three separate cases pending against Mr. Maglione in connection with the same girl.
   In addition to last week’s sexual assault indictment, a two-count indictment was returned against Mr. Maglione in September 2010, charging him with stalking and computer-related theft charges for allegedly installing spyware on the girl’s computer. The software could capture her keystrokes, take photos and record sound, according to the prosecutor’s office.
   Mr. Maglione posted $5,000 bail in the computer-related case, which has yet to go to trial.
   The most recent arrest May 19 stems from the alleged violation of a February restraining order prohibiting him from having any contact with the girl. Prosecutors told Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier in February that Mr. Maglione was trying to contact the girl by using fake screen names on social networking websites.
   After the incident on Mercer Street on May 19, the girl’s mother called Hamilton police, and new charges of stalking and harassment were filed against Mr. Maglione. A different judge unfamiliar with the history of the case allowed Mr. Maglione to post $100,000 bail the night of his arrest, and he was released.
   The girl had told Hamilton police that Mr. Maglione had shouted “I love you” and “Does this mean we’re over?” to her from the open window of his Porsche SUV, which led to the May 19 charges.
   Robin Lord, Mr. Maglione’s attorney, said he was driving to an appointment with a business client, not stalking the girl, and he had said nothing to her during the inadvertent encounter on the public street.
   The next day, when the prosecutor’s office realized Mr. Maglione had been released, it filed an emergent motion asking Judge Billmeier to revoke the $300,000 bail on the sexual assault charges because of the alleged restraining order violation. Judge Billmeier agreed, and Mr. Maglione spent the next four days in jail.
   During a court hearing on the bail issue May 24, Ms. Lord successfully argued the prosecution lacked clear and convincing evidence the incident occurred the way the girl said it had. The girl’s statement to police was not a sworn affidavit, Ms. Lord noted, and the prosecution’s decision not to bring her into court deprived the defense of the opportunity to question her.
   The judge agreed and reinstated Mr. Maglione’s bail. The judge also told Assistant Prosecutor Brian McCauley on May 24 that should Mr. Maglione eventually be indicted on the sexual assault charges that still were pending at the time, the prosecutor’s office would be able to seek higher bail.
   The investigation into the relationship between Mr. Maglione and the child began in 2010 after an off-duty sheriff’s officer called police to report he’d seen Mr. Maglione taking the girl into a wooded area of a park, prosecutors have said.
   Police executed a search warrant inside Mr. Maglione’s Robbinsville home, and that led to the computer-related charges. Further investigation by Robbinsville Detective Bryan Boccanfuso and the prosecutor’s Child Abuse/Sexual Assault and Computer Crimes units led to the sexual assault charges.
   Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Downing presented the case to the grand jury.