An Egg Harbor Township man will stay in jail on charges he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl while she was sleeping at his home.
Sean Cooke, 34, is charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault and endangering sexual contact with a child.
The girl was brought to the hospital March 4, and Egg Harbor Township police were called.
A witness told police that she walked into the room to find Cooke move quickly away from the sleeping girl. It was discovered that the girl's pajama pants and underwear had been pulled down, according to information from the affidavit read by Assistant Prosecutor Marissa McGarvey.
The girl told investigators that she was asleep when she felt a poke in her lower back, but was so tired she just went back to sleep.
Cooke "admitted he was intoxicated and didn’t know what he had done," McGarvey said. "When asked if he could have had sex with her, he said, 'I hope not.'"
But public defender Kevin Moses argued that there was no case for a first-degree sexual assault charge, which alleges some type of penetration. The charge meant that the burden for fighting detention switched from the state to the defense.
He said his client would be able to live in Galloway Township with his father if he was released.
But Judge Jeffrey Wilson ordered Cooke held, agreeing that he was a risk to the community.
