A New Jersey police sergeant and former mayor has been charged with sexually assaulting a child who was “mentally incapacitated” at the time, according to county prosecutors.
The officer, Sgt. Andrew LaBruno of the Jersey City Police Department, was arrested on Monday and faces charges of aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, according to a Tuesday news release from Mark Musella, the Bergen County prosecutor. The victim’s name, age and gender have not been released.
Sergeant LaBruno, who lives in Dumont, N.J., where he served as mayor from 2020 to 2023, initially made contact with the child on social media, prosecutors said. “On or about” Monday, he visited the child’s home in nearby Englewood when the child was alone, according to prosecutors.
At the home, Sergeant LaBruno, 44, sprayed an “unknown substance” into his hand, which he placed over the child’s nose and mouth, making the child dizzy, according to court documents. He then forced the child to perform a sex act, the documents said.
The victim was taken to a medical facility after “a member of the public” called 911, according to the documents. The child’s condition remained unclear on Wednesday.
Sergeant LaBruno has been suspended without pay from the Police Department, a spokeswoman for the Jersey City mayor’s office said. The department’s internal affairs unit is conducting its own investigation, she added.
The sergeant is being held at the Bergen County jail, according to inmate records, and is expected to return to court on Friday. Kevin C. Corriston and Anthony Barbieri, lawyers who were listed in court records as representing him, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sergeant LaBruno, a Democrat, ran this year for a General Assembly seat in a northeast New Jersey district that includes part of Bergen County. He came in third place behind two Republicans in a tight race, receiving just shy of one-quarter of the district’s votes.
Shortly after the news of the sergeant’s arrest became public, furious comments began to pour into his social media pages, which chronicle his campaigns for office and include photos of his wife and children.
Camille Baker is a Times reporter covering New York City and its surrounding areas.
The post Police Officer and Ex-Mayor Is Charged With Sexually Assaulting a Child appeared first on New York Times.
