A New Jersey police sergeant and youth football director has been arrested for assaulting two of the players in the league he managed.
Sgt. Edward Giles, 59, has been charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault of a child, among a number of other charges.
Giles has spent years as a community resource officer and serving as the youth football director of the East Orange Police Athletic League, according to MyCentralJersey.com.
“This defendant took advantage of his position of trust in the community as a means to victimize children,” wrote acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo in a release Wednesday. “We believe that there are likely additional victims yet to be identified, and we are urging anyone with information to come forward and help bring him to justice.”
Giles’ arrest is the result of a seven-month investigation by the Special Victims Unit of the Union County Prosecutor’s Office that was initiated earlier this year. The investigation revealed two victims. One of Giles’ victims was a student-athlete who played for the East Orange Wildcats youth football team, which was then coached by Giles. That child was allegedly assaulted on several occasions from 1998 into 2000, when he was between 11 and 13 years old. The second victim, also a youth football player, was allegedly assaulted from 2002 into 2003, when he was between 12 and 13 years old.
An attorney representing Giles calls the charges “meritless” and said allegations had arisen previously but hadn’t been deemed sufficient for criminal charges.
