MOUNT HOLLY, NJ – A 31-year-old homeless man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an elderly woman at knifepoint in Willingboro Township during the summer of 2020.
Under a plea agreement with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, Shawn Midgette will serve 12 years in state prison for the Aggravated Sexual Assault (First Degree) charge. He also pleaded guilty to Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose (Third Degree) in a separate incident, for which he will serve a concurrent five-year sentence.
The pleas were entered last week in Superior Court in Mount Holly before the Hon. Christopher J. Garrenger, J.S.C., with sentencing scheduled for October 27.
The investigation commenced on July 24, 2020, when an elderly woman was assaulted in her vehicle by a man who requested a ride from her outside a pharmacy on Springside Road in Westampton. He forced her to drive to the Garfield East section of Willingboro, where he assaulted her and stole cash from her purse before fleeing.
The following day, a homeless woman in Monroe Park reported being threatened with a knife by Midgette, leading to his arrest two days later by Willingboro police at a McDonald’s on Beverly Rancocas Road.
