NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Officials announced on March 6 that a suspended assistant director of the Middlesex County Correction Center has been indicted on charges he sexually assaulted a female inmate when she was being held at the youth detention center in October of 2000.

Derick Stevens, a 40-year-old man from Burlington Township, was indicted on March 5 by a Middlesex County grand jury on 13 counts including official misconduct, sexual assault witness tampering, hindering his own apprehension, obstructing the administration of law, and tampering with physical evidence.

Six days earlier, another Middlesex County grand jury handed up an indictment in a separate case, charging Stevens with official misconduct, offenses involving a false government document, and creating and possessing a simulated document.

In that case, the grand jury charged that Stevens was “in possession of the false police identification card” on December 7, 2011, one day before he was suspended from his position.

Investigator Karleen Dunca and Investigator Frank DiNinno, both of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, made the discovery after investigating the victim’s claim that Steven’s sexually assaulted her when she was incarcerated at the county’s youth detention center in North Brunswick.

The assault took place between September 22 and October 30 of 2000, when Stevens worked as a juvenile detention officer and had supervisory role over the woman, who was 21 years old at the time.

The grand jury for that case charged Stevens with witness tampering and hindering apprehension when investigators found that Stevens told the victim and another witness not to talk about the sexual assault with authorities. Investigators determined Stevens had also deleted text messages and/or call logs on his cell phone to obstruct the investigation.

As we reported in December 2011, Stevens was suspended without pay from his $70,291 position on December 8, 2011, after the victim reported the sexual assault.  He had been working for the Middlesex County Department of Adult Corrections and Youth Services since August 1996.