Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of 30-year-old CRAIG L. HERBERT of New Milford, NJ on charges of attempted sexual assault, criminal restraint, criminal sexual contact and simple assault. The arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck, and the Hackensack Police Department under the direction of Officer-in-Charge Michael Antista.
On Friday, July 26, 2024, the Hackensack Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit regarding an alleged attempted sexual assault that occurred at the Riverside Square Mall in Hackensack, NJ the previous evening. A joint investigation involving detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, the Hackensack Police Department, and with additional assistance provided by the New Milford Police Department and River Edge Police Department, revealed that an unknown suspect followed the adult female victim into a women’s restroom in the mall, whereupon he shoved the victim to the floor and attempted to sexually assault her. The victim was able to fight off her attacker before calling 9-1-1. The suspect fled the scene but was captured on security surveillance footage. Working together, detectives identified the suspect as CRAIG L. HERBERT of New Milford, NJ, and located him on the afternoon of Friday, July 26, 2024.
As a result of the investigation, CRAIG L. HERBERT was arrested in Paramus, NJ and charged with second-degree attempted sexual assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1/14-2(c)(1); third-degree criminal restraint, N.J.S.A. 2C:13-2B; fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3B; and the disorderly persons offense of simple assault, N.J.S.A. 12-1A(1). HERBERT was remanded to the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, NJ.
Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations, and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutor Musella would like to thank the Hackensack Police Department, the New Milford Police Department, the River Edge Police Department, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this investigation.