A Manalapan police officer has been arrested and charged with official misconduct, child endangerment, stalking and other offenses related to his alleged illegal behavior involving a teenage girl, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Thursday.  

Kevin Ruditsky, 46, has been charged with: second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, second-degree official misconduct, third-degree computer theft, third-degree hindering apprehension, fourth-degree stalking, and false imprisonment.

An investigation by the MCPO Professional Responsibility Unit was initiated earlier this month upon receipt of information that Ruditsky had been sending inappropriate messages and photos to a 16-year-old girl.

The investigation determined that the conduct allegedly began during Manalapan Township’s National Night Out event, part of an annual community outreach campaign in which numerous police departments countywide participated.

Ruditsky was in full uniform at the time, and after allowing the victim to sit in his patrol car, later that evening and in the days that followed, he began sending her sexually explicit messages and photos via social media — despite the victim having repeatedly informed him of her age.

The investigation also determined that several days after National Night Out, while the victim was driving on Route 9, Ruditsky allegedly pulled her over, unlawfully handcuffed her, and attempted to kiss her while his dash camera and body-worn camera were both deactivated.

The investigation further revealed that Ruditsky conducted lookups of the victim in a law enforcement database, outside the purview of any legitimate law enforcement purpose, and on one occasion he parked his marked patrol vehicle outside of the victim’s home, after she had refused to provide him with her home address.

Ruditsky was arrested without incident yesterday and lodged in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI) pending an initial appearance to take place today.

He was suspended without pay by the Manalapan Police Department.

“That a sworn member of law enforcement would begin to so egregiously violate the public’s trust while in uniform at an event specifically intended to strengthen trust between law enforcement and the public is, in a word, unconscionable,” Prosecutor Santiago said. “Swift action in addressing this conduct, culminating in the charges being announced today, was an absolute imperative.”

Anyone with information about this or related matters is urged to contact MCPO Detective Gregory Hilton II at 800-533-7443.