For Immediate Release:

May 5, 2023 

Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of CLARENCE KASEIN HEDGEMAN (DOB: 04/15/1982; single; driver) of Woodland Park, NJ, on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and sexual assault by contact.  The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Jason Love and the Wood-Ridge Police Department under the direction of Chief Michael O’Donnell.

On Thursday, May 4, 2023, the Wood-Ridge Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit regarding the alleged sexual assault of a child.  An investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Wood-Ridge Police Department revealed that CLARENCE KASEIN HEDGEMAN sexually assaulted a 16-year-old child in Wood-Ridge, NJ. 

As a result of the investigation, on Thursday, May 4, 2023, CLARENCE KASEIN HEDGEMAN was arrested in Paramus, NJ and charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(1); and fourth-degree sexual assault by contact, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3b.  HEDGEMAN was remanded to the Bergen County Jail pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, NJ.

Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He would like to thank the Wood-Ridge Police Department and the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.