State v. Hodge

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

O’HERN, J.

Defendant, Hodge, pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(a), admitting he had committed acts of sexual intercourse with his stepdaughter, aged 13, over a year’s time. The statute makes sexual contact of this sort a crime of the first degree when the victim is 13 to 16 years old and the offender has a supervisory role within the household, even in the absence of force or violence, as in this case. N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(a)(2)(c).

Defendant was a first offender, employed full-time and was supporting his wife and…