Illegal alien gets 10 years for violent jersey shore attack on woman

Illegal alien gets 10 years for violent Jersey Shore attack on woman

TOMS RIVER, N.J. – An illegal alien who fled the state after violently attacking a woman during the summer of 2022 will spend the next decade behind bars following his sentencing in Ocean County Superior Court.

Judge Dina M. Vicari handed down a ten-year state prison sentence to Juan Santiago-Rojas, 31, of Point Pleasant Borough, on Thursday for attempted murder stemming from a brutal assault that left a woman unconscious inside her home more than three years ago. Under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, Santiago-Rojas must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

Rojas has two immigration detainers lodged against him by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Authorities said the assault occurred on August 22, 2022, when Point Pleasant Borough police responded to a Butler Avenue residence for reports of an unconscious female.

The woman, suffering severe head and neck injuries, was rushed to Hackensack Meridian Ocean Medical Center in Brick Township before being transferred to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. She survived the attack after extensive treatment and was later released.

Investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and Major Crime Unit, along with local police and the county’s Crime Scene Investigation Unit, determined that Santiago-Rojas had assaulted and strangled the victim until she lost consciousness. He was charged with aggravated assault the next day, but fled before he could be arrested. His name was entered into the National Crime Information Center database as a fugitive.

After more than a year on the run, Santiago-Rojas was captured in Wilmington, North Carolina, on December 8, 2023. He was extradited to New Jersey the following month and held in the Ocean County Jail.

Prosecutors later upgraded the charges to attempted murder following additional investigation. Santiago-Rojas pleaded guilty in August and has remained in custody since his extradition.

Justice finally caught up to Santiago-Rojas — three years and 500 miles from where it began.

Shore News Network

Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

Stilton's journalism follows established newsroom standards emphasizing accuracy, verification, fairness, and accountability. Every effort is made to verify information through official records and multiple reliable sources before publication. His reporting is intended to provide readers with timely, well-documented information that helps them understand the issues affecting their communities, while maintaining editorial independence from political parties, government agencies, advocacy organizations, and commercial interests.

Readers can submit story tips, corrections, public records, or media inquiries through the official Shore News Network website or its verified social media channels. Shore News Network welcomes corrections and updates when new information becomes available as part of its ongoing commitment to accurate and transparent journalism.