UNION COUNTY – A North Plainfield police officer has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a Kenilworth hotel earlier this year.

Mike Jean-Baptiste, 29, was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree sexual assault, according to acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park.

The case was referred by Kenilworth police to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit for an investigation, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Scott Peterson, who is handling the case.

The investigation revealed that Jean-Baptiste first met the woman while on duty on March 2, 2017 and allegedly sexually assaulted her later that night at The Kenilworth, a hotel just off the Garden State Parkway, Peterson said.

Jean-Baptiste was taken into custody without incident Monday afternoon in North Plainfield and lodged in Union County Jail in Elizabeth pending a first appearance scheduled for Tuesday.

The prosecutor’s office thanked the Kenilworth Police Department for assistance in the investigation.

If convicted Jean-Baptiste could spend five to 10 years in state prison.

Jean-Baptiste joined the North Plainfield Police Department in 2014 and was credited with saving the life of his own training officer during his rookie year by performing the Heimlich maneuver.

Source: http://www.mycentraljersey.com