Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey, Chief Kenneth Cop of the Rutgers University Police Department and Director Anthony A. Caputo of the New Brunswick Police Department said that a Newark man surrendered on May 14, 2016 on charges of attacking and severely beating a female student in New Brunswick last week. Michael P. Knight, 37, turned himself in to police in Newark, hours after he was charged and identified as the man who attacked the woman on the Rutgers University New Brunswick campus.
Mr. Knight is being held in lieu of $1 million bail on charges of aggravated assault, attempted aggravated sexual assault, aggravated sexual contact, kidnapping and endangering his injured victim during the attack. Mr. Knight also was charged with terroristic threats for threatening to kill a man who attempted to follow the attacker as he fled the scene of the attack.
An investigation has determined that Mr. Knight followed the woman and attacked her near College Avenue and Seminary Place on the New Brunswick campus at 3:30 a.m. on May 4, 2016. He struck her on the head, and severely beat her. He was attempting to sexually assault her when a group of individuals intervened. As he fled, he said he had a gun and threatened to shoot one of the men who attempted to chase him.
The woman was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where she was treated for injuries. She since has been released from hospital care.
The investigation is active and is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sgt. Carlos Rodriguez of the Rutgers University Police Department at (848) 932-8025, or Detective George Stilwell of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-8675.