Joshua Munyon during his detention hearing April 11, 2025.
An Atlantic City police officer accused of raping a handcuffed and inebriated woman inside his patrol car was ordered held in jail Friday.
Joshua Munyon, 24, of Egg Harbor Township, was arrested last week and suspended without pay after charges were filed following an investigation into the Sept. 13 allegations.
Police were called to the Tropicana Casino that day to remove the victim, who admitted to drinking shots of cognac, smoking weed and doing mushrooms, according to information presented during a detention hearing Friday.
Video surveillance shows Munyon leave the casino and then circle the block in his patrol car before coming back and picking up the victim, Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Ruffenach told the judge.
Munyon then drives to the Atlantic City Police Compound on Albany Avenue, where the alleged assault occurred.
But the officer never radioed that he was transporting anyone, and instead only notified dispatch that he was switching vehicles, Ruffenach said.
When he drove the victim back to the Tropicana, there was “quite a scene” as the woman went back into the casino where she had just been ejected, video shows.
Police were again called, with Munyon returning.
“When she sees him, she freaks out,” Ruffenach said.
That is when the allegations came out.
The defense presented a much different image than one the state painted of a uniformed police officer who used his position to isolate an incapacitated woman in a town she did not know, and then force her into sexual acts.
“This is an individual who has dedicated himself and his life to being a police officer,” defense attorney Lou Barbone said. “For the past two years, he’s put on a uniform and put his life on the line to protect the citizens of Atlantic City every day.”
He pointed to five commendations the young officer received in his two years on the job, and assessments that say he “performs above expectations.”
Munyon lives in Egg Harbor Township with his pregnant wife, their infant child and her parents.
His wife and in-laws all wrote character letters to the court.
Barbone argued against detention and questioned the highest charge of first-degree aggravated sexual assault.
That charge is attached to the victim’s claims that she was handcuffed the entire time, which Barbone said video disproved. Video of a portion of the victim’s statement was played, with the court going off the public livestream to protect her identity.
“She has said four times that she was handcuffed the entire time,” Barbone said, after the public hearing resumed following the video.
“And the defendant says she was never in the car,” Ruffenach replied.
“That’s what you say,” Barbone said.
Judge Jeffrey Waldman said there was no proof that she was not handcuffed in the patrol car, and found probable cause for all charges.
He later ordered Munyon held, agreeing with the public safety assessment that recommended detention.
Munyon’s next court date is May 19 before Judge Donna Taylor.
He remains in the Cape May County Correctional Facility.
