New Jersey Criminal Defense Blog

A recent WABC-TV New York article reports that a New Jersey school bus driver has been accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. Law enforcement officials from Morris County, New Jersey claim that Edward M. Comperchio, 74, of Hopatcong, was arrested at his home on Wednesday, May 27, 2009. According to a statement issued by Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi, Comperchio allegedly parked his school bus before making his scheduled rounds and assaulted the 12-year-old on the bus. Byram Bus Lines confirmed that Comperchio is an employee of the company but law enforcement authorities declined to name the school that the 12-year-old alleged New Jersey sex crime victim attends.

Comperchio is currently being held at the Morris County Correctional Facility on $100,000 bail. A spokesman for Byram Bus Lines, Alan Mackerly Jr, said that the alleged sexual assault charges came as a shock to the company’s personnel. He said, "This is something that hit us out of the blue. My understanding is that this is under criminal investigation and we are cooperating with the authorities and the school board."

Sex crimes in New Jersey are covered by Chapter 2C of the Criminal Code. According to New Jersey law: An actor is guilty of sexual assault if he or she commits an act of sexual contact with a victim who is less than 13 years old and the actor is at least four years older than the victim.

The New Jersey Criminal Code defines sexual assault as a second degree crime which can result in the following criminal penalties:

• Steep fines


• Imprisonment in a New Jersey State Prison of up to 7 years


• Probation


• Parole


• Mandatory registration as a sex offender


• Publication of the offender’s name on the Internet as a registered sex offender


• Restrictions on where they can live


• And other criminal penalties