COURT HOUSE – A Cape May County grand jury handed up 11 indictments June 5. The abbreviation CDS below stands for controlled dangerous substance.
Law enforcement agents allege the following actions. Persons named are innocent until proven otherwise in court.
Kevin T. Craner-Morey
Already sentenced to three years in state prison on child pornography charges, Kevin Craner-Morey, 31, of Villas, was awaiting transfer at the Cape May Correctional Center when he was served with new and unrelated charges involving multiple occurrences of child sexual assault.
Craner-Morey was indicted on 10 counts. Four first-degree counts for aggravated sexual assault related to various dates from 2010 to 2018. All involve the same victim.
The indictment contained three other counts for second-degree sexual assault and one of endangering the welfare of a child.
Each first-degree count is subject to a potential jail term of 10 to 20 years. Second-degree counts carry the potential term of five to 10 years.
The indictment also states that Craner-Morey engaged in witness tampering in April and May 2018 in an attempt to convince witnesses to give false testimony. His indictment carries an added count for third-degree witness tampering.
Lastly, Craner-Morey is accused of violating a sexual offense restraining order. The 10th count in his indictment is for fourth-degree contempt.
Patricia Amelio, Stuart Baade, Brittany Dermott, Daniel R. Marinelli-Varquez, George Zahos
The five individuals listed were named in separate, unrelated indictments for a single count of possession of a CDS.
Robert K. Kern
Robert Kern, 34, of Erma, was indicted for theft of property valued at more than $200 but less than $500, making it a fourth-degree count.
Mindy Denny, Joan Herbert
Mindy Denny, 34, of Dennis Township, was indicted for second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault. The victim was 10-years-old at the time of the incident. Both Denny and Joan Herbert, 81, of Cape May Beach, were named in two additional fourth-degree counts for contempt of a judicial order issued in Family Court in 2013 and obstruction of the administration of law.
Mariela D. Smith
Mariela Smith, of Wildwood, was indicted on two third-degree counts for issuing bad checks and theft by deception. The indictment states that Smith issued two checks to the same individual drawn on two separate banks knowing they would not be honored. Each check was for $6,600.
Jonathan E. Righter
Jonathan Righter, of Wildwood, was indicted on three counts of possession of a CDS, third degree. The drugs in question were cocaine, alprazolam, and oxycodone.
Also, Righter is charged with possession and possession with intent to distribute over one ounce of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school. Those charges are also third degree.
Lastly, Righter faces a second-degree count for possession with intent to distribute within 500 feet of public property.
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