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Animal-cruelty charges added in sex-assault case
A Moorestown police officer in jail on allegations he molested three children was charged Tuesday with four counts of animal cruelty, accused of engaging barnyard animals in sex acts, authorities said.
The Police Department suspended Patrolman Robert Melia Jr., 38, last week after authorities raided his Moorestown home and seized a computer and pornographic materials. The animal-cruelty charges were filed after an examination of the seized materials, authorities said. Police said they were investigating four incidents involving cows.
Melia and Pemberton Township filmmaker Heather Lewis, 32, were charged April 13 with sexually assaulting three girls at Melia's house over five years, a spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said.
Melia was held at the Burlington County jail with bail set at $510,000. Lewis, who is charged with aggravated sexual assault and criminal sexual contact, was held at the Women's Detention Center in Pemberton Township with bail set at $300,000. - Sam Wood
