Grand jury to hear details of attempted sex attack
Incident took place
in Easter Seals home
on Medford Boulevard
BY MARK ROSMAN
Staff Writer

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office is getting ready to present information to a grand jury about an attempted sexual assault that occurred in December at a group home in Freehold Township that is operated by Easter Seals.

Assistant Prosecutor Peter Boser told the News Transcript on Jan. 21 that his office is preparing to present its case against Gregory Clarence Sharpe, 48. He said he expects the case to go before the grand jury in February.

If the grand jury votes to indict Sharpe, that would occur shortly after the evidence is presented, Boser said.

Sharpe, who was a resident of the group home on Medford Boulevard, was arrested at about 11 a.m. Dec. 8 and charged with aggravated assault, attempted sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact and criminal restraint. He is accused of attacking a woman in her 20s who was working in the residence that day. They were the only people present in the home at the time.

Boser said Sharpe spontaneously started attacking the woman. He repeatedly pulled her pants down, tried to take keys out of her pocket, strangled her and hit her head on the ground.

At some point during the attack the woman was able to put a call through to 911 and police officers responded and arrested Sharpe. The victim suffered injuries to her face, head and ribs.

Noreen Taggart, vice president of Behavioral Health Services with Easter Seals, said the agency’s internal investigation of the incident is continuing. She said Easter Seals is cooperating with authorities.

Taggart said she could not provide any information about Sharpe or the employee because that is protected personal information. She said she is unable to say how many people live in the Medford Boulevard home at the present time.

When asked how Easter Seals assesses the people who live in its group homes, Taggart said, "We screen all applicants. We screen for violence and a history of violence."

Pam Ronan, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Human Services, said municipalities have no say in allowing or preventing an agency from purchasing a residence and making it a group home. The agency is not required to get special permission to establish a group home and its plan supersedes all local zoning requirements, she said.

An agency’s purchase of a home is covered under the federal Fair Housing Act which treats the agency like a private individual who also would not be required to provide information about any person who might move into the residence, Ronan said.

She said the private agency’s contract with the state to operate the group home would have to stipulate the type of ser­vices to be provided to each resident of the home and explain how their individ­ual needs would be met. Privacy laws would prevent such a contract from being a public document, she said.