MANALAPAN – A Manalapan Township Patrolman has received a 19-count indictment after allegedly engaging in illegal behavior with two teenage girls, officials said.
Kevin Ruditsky, 47, is charged with second-degree Engaging in a Pattern of Official Misconduct, nine counts of second-degree Official Misconduct, three counts of third-degree Computer Criminal Activity, three counts of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and single counts of third-degree Hindering Apprehension, fourth-degree Impersonating a Law Enforcement Officer (while suspended from duty), and fourth-degree Stalking.
According to officials, Ruditsky had been sending inappropriate messages and photos to one of the victims, a 16-year-old girl. This began after Ruhditsky met the victim at the 2023 National Night Out event.
At that time, Ruditsky was in full uniform and let the victim sit in his patrol car. Later that evening and in the days that followed, he began sending her sexually explicit messages and photos through social media, despite the victim having repeatedly informed him of her age, officials said.
Several days after National Night Out, Ruditsky pulled the victim over while driving on Route 9, unlawfully handcuffed her, and attempted to kiss her while his dash camera and body-worn camera were both deactivated, officials said.
In addition, Ruditsky, while on duty, parked his marked patrol vehicle outside of the victim’s home – after she had refused to provide him with her home address, officials said.
Authorities later discovered that Ruditsky sent inappropriate messages to the other victim in December 2022, when she was 17.
Additionally, Ruditsky conducted improper lookups of both victims in a law-enforcement database, which was outside the scope of any legitimate law enforcement purpose.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.
