Manalapan Cop Stalked Teen Girl He Met At Police Event: Prosecutor

FREEHOLD, NJ — A Manalapan Township patrolman has been arrested, accused of a "pattern of illegal behavior" involving a teen girl he met at the town's National Night Out event, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Thursday.

Kevin Ruditsky, 46, is charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child; second-degree official misconduct; third-degree computer theft; third-degree hindering apprehension; fourth-degree stalking, and false imprisonment, a disorderly persons offense, the prosecutor's office said.

He is accused of sending the girl, 16, whom he met at the police community event, sexually explicit messages and photos. He is also accused of at one point stopping her in her car on Route 9 and unlawfully handcuffing her, trying to kiss her while his police cameras were off, the prosecutor's office said.

An investigation by the prosecutor's office Professional Responsibility Unit was initiated earlier this month after getting information that Ruditsky had been sending inappropriate messages and photos to a 16-year-old girl, according to authorities.

Ruditsky had been suspended and is now suspended without pay, the Manalapan police chief said Thursday.

The prosecutor's office said an investigation determined that the conduct began during Manalapan Township’s National Night Out event, part of an annual community outreach campaign in which numerous police departments countywide participated.

Ruditsky was in full uniform at the time, and after allowing the victim to sit in his patrol car, later that evening and in the days that followed, he began sending her sexually explicit messages and photos via social media – despite the victim having repeatedly informed him of her age, the prosecutor said.

The investigation also determined that several days after National Night Out, while the victim was driving on Route 9, Ruditsky pulled her over, unlawfully handcuffed her, and attempted to kiss her while his dash camera and body-worn camera were both deactivated.

Authorities said the investigation further revealed that Ruditsky conducted lookups of the victim in a law enforcement database, outside the purview of any legitimate law enforcement purpose, and on one occasion he parked his marked patrol vehicle outside of the victim’s home – after she had refused to provide him with her home address.

Ruditsky was arrested without incident Wednesday and lodged in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold pending a first appearance Thursday, the prosecutor's office said.

The prosecutor and the Manalapan police chief commented on the charges:

“That a sworn member of law enforcement would begin to so egregiously violate the public’s trust while in uniform at an event specifically intended to strengthen trust between law enforcement and the public is, in a word, unconscionable,” Santiago said. “Swift action in addressing this conduct, culminating in the charges being announced today, was an absolute imperative.”

Police Chief Edward Niesz said:

“The men and women of the Manalapan Township Police Department are and should be held to the highest moral and ethical standards, and it troubles me that the actions of one individual can stain the reputation of all of us.

"We are deeply saddened and disturbed that this victim had her trust betrayed by a man wearing one of our uniforms. I want to emphasize that this department will continue to provide our community with the most professional service with integrity and compassion, as we have always done,” Niesz said.

He also said, “We want our community to know that once the Manalapan Township Police Department became aware of the investigation into the conduct of Kevin Ruditsky, he was suspended, and upon being charged today, that suspension is without pay.

"The Department has fully cooperated and assisted the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office in this investigation from the onset and continues to support the Prosecutor’s Office through the arrest made yesterday (Wednesday). We will remain transparent and accountable to our community,” the chief said in a statement.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Melanie Falco, director of the Professional Responsibility Unit.

Ruditsky is being represented by Mitchell J. Ansell, Ocean Township.

Anyone with information about this or related matters is urged to contact prosecutor's office Detective Gregory Hilton II at 800-533-7443.