Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that seven registered sex offenders have been indicted by a grand jury for changing their residences without notifying law enforcement authorities.
Under New Jersey law, registered sex offenders who plan to move to a new residence must notify police in the town where they presently live about the change and also provide their new address to police in the municipality where they intend to move. Sex offenders who relocate to New Jersey from another state must also contact local police and provide their addresses.
The following individuals were indicted on one count of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender (Third Degree):
Demetris Bean, 42, of Browns Mills; Shawn Harris, 34, of Edgewater Park; Brian Henderson, 37, of Burlington Township; Paul Hollingsworth, 37, of Pemberton Township; Robert Richardson, 43, Mount Holly; Joseph Singletary, 43, of Maple Shade; and Michael Tedesco, 48, of Reading, Pa. The municipalities listed for each defendant were the last addresses on file with authorities before they moved and failed to provide their new locations.
The indictments were recently returned and signed by Prosecutor Coffina. Arraignments will be scheduled soon in Superior Court in Mount Holly. The defendants are being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Weiler.
Harris, Henderson, Singletary and Tedesco are presently lodged in various jails on charges unrelated to their failure to register. Bean, Hollingsworth and Richardson are considered fugitives.
Anyone with information as to their whereabouts is urged to call the Prosecutor’s Office at 609-265-5035 and ask to speak to a detective in the Megan’s Law Unit. Information can also be submitted electronically to tips@co.burlington.nj.us.
Details of the offenses that led to these defendants being placed on the state sex offender registry cannot be divulged because New Jersey’s Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit a Prosecutor’s Office from providing details of a defendant’s criminal history outside of a court proceeding.
Under state law, the New Jersey State Police are responsible for administering the Sex Offender Internet Registry. For more information, visit https://www.njsp.org/sex-offender-registry/.
An indictment is an accusation. Defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.
2021-46 Seven Sex Offenders Indicted for Failing to Register