By KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
NEW BRUNSWICK — A 38-year-old Franklin Township man has been charged with committing sex crimes in Edison Township and the City of New Brunswick, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey, Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan and New Brunswick Police Director Anthony A. Caputo.
Thomas Canales, who is the owner of the computer company, “Scope It Out,” in the Somerset section of Franklin, was also charged with computer theft after he allegedly installed a surveillance system in a client’s home in Edison and then watched activities in the home through his computer and cellphone, according to a release by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Bail has been set at $300,000 for Canales.
Canales was arrested at his home Sept. 1 during an investigation by Detective Bill Coleman of the New Brunswick Police Department, Detective Dominick DeCarlo of the Edison Police Department and Detective Mark Morris of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
During the investigation, it was determined that Canales allegedly exposed himself to a 7-year-old girl in New Brunswick on July 3. In that case, he is charged with sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and lewdness, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Canales was also charged with criminal sexual contact for allegedly touching a 32-year-old woman improperly at a playground by an apartment complex in Edison on Aug. 25. The charge in that case was filed on Sept. 8.
The investigation is active and continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Coleman of the New Brunswick Police Department at 732-745-5200, Detective DeCarlo of the Edison Police Department at 732-248-7400 or Detective Morris of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-3300.