Crime & Safety

Former Cop Indicted on Sexual Assault Charges

Ocean City beach tag inspection supervisor Charles Cusack was indicted on March 26, nearly eight months after his arrest.

A former Ocean City police officer has been indicted on charges of sexual assault on a minor, according to Ken Super, chief county detective for the Cape May Prosecutor's Office.

Charles Cusack, age 49 at the time of his arrest, had been charged with one count of second degree sexual contact of a juvenile under the age of 18, Super said. According to the indictment, the alleged acts took place on or about diverse dates between July 14 and Aug. 4, 2012. Cusack was arrested on Aug. 6, 2012. (See attached PDF for the text of the indictment.)

He was indicted on March 26, nearly eight months after he was arrested in August. According to Super, no additional victims have come forward at this time.

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Cusack's attorney, Louis Barbone, of the Jacobs and Barbone law firm in Atlantic City, was not immediately available for comment Thursday morning. He previously stated Cusack would plead not guilty.

No initial court appearance has been scheduled.

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Cusack is accused of sexual contact with a female between the ages of 16 and 18 who was under his supervision as part of Ocean City's beach tag inspection staff. At the time, Cusack was retired from the Ocean City Police Department and working as the superintendent of the beach tag inspection program. The indictment accuses Cusack of committing an act of alleged sexual penetration.

A condition of his arrest was that he have no contact with anyone in the beach tag program.

Cusack was an Ocean City police officer for 25 years and spent the last two years as a resource officer at Ocean City High School. He was a supervisory aide in the Ocean City School District for six months in 2012, leaving about a month prior to his arrest.

Cusack, a former resident of Linwood, has three daughters and had been separated from his wife at the time of his arrest. He was released from custody after posting $150,000 bond.

Second-degree sexual assault encompasses sexual contact with a victim at least 13 but less than 16 years old (with a suspect at least four years older than the victim) or with a victim at least 16 but less than 18 years old and the suspect has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim. “Sexual penetration” means any insertion into the anus or vagina by the accused or upon the accused’s instruction. 

Second-degree offenses are subject to sentences of five to 10 years in state prison. First-degree offenses, by contrast, typically involve physical force and personal injury.


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