Prosecutor: Area Cop Arrested for Illegally Accessing Official Records to Hunt Down Woman

An area police officer is facing charges that he illegally accessed computer databases to look up personal information about a woman and stalk her, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Thursday.   

Joshua A. James, 29, a Neptune Township police officer, has been charged with third-degree computer-related criminal activity stemming from the incident.  

The case background …

An investigation led by members of the Prosecutor’s Office Professional Responsibility Unit revealed that James was working an assignment outside a local elementary school earlier this month when he noticed a woman picking up her child. He then looked up her license plate and home address in two law enforcement databases intended strictly for policing purposes.

James then drove to the woman’s home and asked if she was single, and whether he could have her phone number.

James was arrested and charged earlier this week. He has been suspended from duty by the Neptune Township Police Department.

Anyone with information about James’s activities is being urged to contact MCPO Detective Ryan Mahony at 800-533-7443.

This case is being prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Melanie Falco, Director of the MCPO Professional Responsibility Unit. Information about representation for James was not immediately available. 

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office