UPDATE: Counselor charged with sexually assaulting teen client at Franklin home By MICHAEL DEAK • STAFF REPORTER • July 28, 2010 FRANKLIN (SOMERSET) — Bail has been set at $150,000 for a Matawan woman charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old female client at a residential home in the township.
Jaysi Rodriguez, 31, was charged Tuesday with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance.
Acting Somerset County Prosecutor A. Peter DeMarco Jr. said Rodriguez worked as a counselor at a New Jersey Mentor Program residential home in the township and was responsible for the supervision of the victim.
New Jersey Mentor was established in 1990 to provide home and community-based rehabilitation services to adults recovering from an acquired brain injury, according to the organization's website. The agency has since expanded its services to include people with disabilities and children with emotional and behavioral challenges.
The victim told Somerset County Prosecutor Office detectives that Rodriguez had performed two sex acts upon her between Aug. 13, 2009 and Feb. 13, DeMarco said.
The victim also told detectives Rodriguez gave her a prescription medication, Xanax, according to an affidavit filed in Superior Court.
The allegations were reported to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office by the Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, DeMarco said.
After being given her Miranda rights about self-incrimination, Rodriguez admitted to the accusations, according to an affidavit filed in Superior Court.
Superior Court Judge John H. Pursel set bail with the condition that Rodriguez have no contact with the victim.
Valery Bailey, the program's state director, was not available for comment Wednesday afternoon.
