NJ Couple Accused Troopers Of Sexual Assault. Investigators Say It's A Hoax

BLOOMSBURY, NJ — A Hunterdon County couple, who claimed sexual assault by New Jersey State Police (NJSP) troopers, are lying and will be charged accordingly, said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin Tuesday.

Randal Kelco, 35, and Lisa DeStefano, 45, both of Bloomsbury, have been charged by complaint with second-degree making false reports to law enforcement.

On Oct. 23, 2023, at 3:59 a.m., three NJSP troopers went to a domestic dispute at the Brunswick Avenue home in Bloomsbury shared by the couple.

The troopers were at the home for about 40 minutes. Troopers' body-worn cameras captured their interactions with Kelco and DeStefano and also showed troopers taking Kelco to a nearby hotel before leaving.

The next day, shortly after 1:30 a.m., Kelco and DeStefano went to the Emergency Department of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where they both reported to the medical staff that Kelco had been sexually assaulted by the troopers the day before, said Platkin.

New Brunswick police officers spoke with the couple, who once again alleged the assault and provided a detailed description of the purported crime, said

The couple then filed a complaint with the NJSP Office of Professional Standards (OPS) against the troopers, and told a detective from that office during a Nov. 6, 2023, interview that Kelco was sexually assaulted by the troopers.

An investigation found that neither the body-worn camera footage nor footage of the interaction from Kelco’s own cellphone shows any evidence of a sexual assault or any other misconduct on the part of the troopers during their interaction with Kelco and DiStefano.

"In fact, the recordings directly contradict the accounts of Kelco and DeStefano," said Platkin. "In this case, OPIA followed the evidence, including the body-worn camera video of the officers, which allegedly shows this was a malicious, self-serving hoax by the defendants."

Kelco and DeStefano could face five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000 for the second-degree charge.