Princeton health worker gets PTI in sex case
TRENTON >> In the end, a suspended Princeton health associate got his way when his accuser suddenly fell out of contact with prosecutors.
And so did his lightning rod Trenton defense attorney Robin Lord, who complained that prosecutors had treated 37-year-old suspected sex offender Jonathan Hodges unfairly and gave preferential treatment to a Mercer County corrections officer charged with the same crime.
Hodges,37,ofTrenton,who maintained he did not force himself last year on a 34-yearoldpatientatPrincetonHouse Behavioral Health where he still works, was formally allowed into a diversion program Wednesday in Mercer County criminal court.
Hodges was charged with second-degree sexual contact but prosecutors reduced the charge to fourth-degree sexual contact because the mental health associate refused to admit he was guilty of placing his hands inside the woman’s pants and underwear while sexually assaulting her.
The agreement with prosecutors to downgrade to the lesser charge allowed Hodges to get around a new rule that went into effect this year for the pretrial intervention program.
Under the new rule, Hodges would have had to plead guilty to the second-degree sexual assault, which carried up to 10 years in prison, before getting into the program, eviscerating his innocence in the case, and the charge would have been dismissed when he completed PTI in three years.
But the new rule does not apply to third- and fourth-degree charges, Lord said. So the accommodation allowed Hodges to maintain his innocence while reaping the benefit of PTI, prosecutors said.
Assistant Prosecutor Katie Magee dismissed the second-degree sexual assault charge, leaving the lone sexual contact charge hanging over Hodges’ head.
If he doesn’t abide conditions of PTI, he could face up to 18 months in prison on the fourth-degree charge.
Hodges, who referred questions to his attorney after the hearing, told the judge he felt hecouldcomplywiththeprogram.
Hodges,whohasapasthistory of substance abuse, will be evaluated for drug and alcohol dependency and must meet with a probation officer while he is on PTI.
While he was suspended, and later had his job duties restricted so he didn’t have contact with patients while the case was pending, Hodges kept his job with Princeton HealthCare System, Lord said.
Prosecutors had surveillance video from Princeton House showing Hodges entering the victim’s room several times over 14 minutes.
But Magee said the case hinged on the word of the victim, who said she was sexually assaulted the same day she was being discharged from the facility.
While she had been willing to testify, the woman stopped cooperating in the case.
The woman moved away and fell out of contact with the prosecutor’s office, Magee said. Her office made numerous efforts to get in touch with the woman to no avail.
There was no suggestion from prosecutors that Hodges swayed the victim not to pursue the case.
Throughout the case, Lord painted Hodges as another victim skewered by Mercer County prosecutors’ selective sword, admonishing the former head of the sexual assault unit Jennifer Downing for allowing former Mercer County corrections officer John Ledbetter into PTI.
Like Hodges, the corrections officer was charged with serious sex crimes for allegedly forcing women in solitary confinement to perform oral sex on him.
Ledbetter’s deal left him with an unblemished criminal record and preserved his pension after he effectively retired following more than 20 years as a corrections officer.
After the hearing, but before scurrying to her illegally parked car, Lord was busy setting up her next move in her never-ending game of chess with prosecutors.
She was asked how Hodges’ case is different than the sexual touching case of Richard Cincilla, a Hamilton man accused of molesting an underage girl.
“Great question,” she said. “It’s not.”
Cincilla’s case became a rallying cry in the county for the abuse of the grand jury system after exposed the county’s former presiding criminal judge and Mercer County prosecutor for making inflammatory remarks to grand jurors about sexual assault cases.
The comments contributed to the abrupt departures of the judge and prosecutor after a Middlesex judge dismissed Cincilla’s charges. Hehassincebeenre-indicted.