Ex-School Principal Guilty In 2014 Break-In, Rape Of Woodbridge Woman

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A former South Jersey high school principal was found guilty Thursday of breaking into a woman's apartment in Woodbridge in 2014, punching her in the head multiple times and raping her.

Danny McEaddy, 40, lives in Sicklerville, is married and has children, according to media reports.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone charged him with the 2014 home invasion/sex assault in Woodbridge after he was criminally charged with peeping into women's windows in South Jersey in 2022.

After his arrest there, McEaddy had to submit his DNA into a statewide criminal database, and it came back a match to the Woodbridge woman last year — nearly 10 years after the break-in occurred.

His criminal trial began April 8, and only lasted one week. A Middlesex County jury found McEaddy guilty of all charges brought by the prosecutor:

• First-degree kidnapping
• First-degree aggravated sexual assault
• Second-degree burglary
• Aggravated assault
• Criminal restraint
• Aggravated criminal sexual contact

He will be sentenced July 25.

Neighbors Heard Screams

On Sept. 21, 2014, McEaddy forced his way into a woman's apartment in the Keasbey section of Woodbridge, said Ciccone.

NJ 101.5 reported that he rang her doorbell and then forced his way inside. She and McEaddy did not know each other.

He dragged the woman into her bedroom, put a blanket over her head, repeatedly punched her in the face and threatened, “Don’t tell anybody or I will kill you," NJ.com reported.

It was a neighbor who called 911 after hearing loud bangs, crying and screaming coming from the apartment.

It was not until February 2022 when police in Sicklerville announced in this Facebook post that a man broke into a woman's home and tried to force her into her bedroom. The woman was able to call police during the encounter, but the suspect fled prior to police arrival.

In May 2022, the same suspect returned and was seen peering in a window of the same woman's home, but again left the area prior to police arrival. In early August, the same suspect was observed peering in windows of "numerous" homes, said police.

McEaddy was arrested early in the morning in August 2022 in the South Jersey town of Pitman, after police said they caught him in the act of peering in a window.

Winslow Township Police were able to link McEaddy to the previous window peeping — and breaking into the woman's home — and charged him with burglary and three counts of peering into windows.

After he was arrested in South Jersey in 2022, McEaddy's DNA was added to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) system, NJ 101.5 reported last year.

Police were able to take DNA from biological samples found at the Woodbridge crime scene, and it matched McEaddy, said a spokeswoman for the Middlesex Prosecutor.

He was arrested in March of last year.

McEaddy was married, is a father and worked in education

McEaddy worked as the principal at a Camden charter school (Freedom Prep) and also as the principal of Hillcrest Elementary School in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, according to NJ.com and NJ 101.5.

He also worked as a special-education teacher before becoming a school administrator. The media outlets described him as a married father of children.

ABC has this video of McEaddy at work as a school principal and administrator: https://6abc.com/former-school...

This case was investigated by Woodbridge Police Detective Thomas Ratajczak, Woodbridge Police Sergeant Richard Yanak and Lieutenant Greg Morris and Detective Lauren Leyva of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutor Ciccone said Ratajczak and Leyva were "instrumental in bringing the case to trial." Prosecutors were Middlesex County SVU Section Chief Lynne Seborowski and Assistant Prosecutor Nicolette Spallanzani.

Man In Woodbridge Sex Assault Was High School Principal; Charged With Sex Crimes Before (March 2023)