Man accused of 2018 Morristown rape returns to court

Brian K. Session, accused of a 2018 rape in Morristown, enters Superior Court hearing, Feb. 24, 2020. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Brian K. Session, the man accused of attacking a woman with a stun gun and then raping her in her Morristown apartment in 2018, was back in court Monday.

The hearing was intended as a conference to plan for Session’s trial, but Superior Court Judge David Ironson pushed the conference to April 6, 2020, at the request of Joseph Corazza, Session’s new public defender.

Defendant Brian K. Session, left, stands before judge, while his new public defender, Joseph Corazza, confers with Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Meg Rodriguez, Feb. 24, 2020. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Corazza said he needed time to familiarize himself with the case. The attorney said he will consider whether to file a motion challenging a prior ruling that found police had properly informed Session of his rights before questioning him, and a motion to suppress evidence they gathered.

Session’s prior counsel, Sean O’Connor, has left the public defender’s officer. Corazza asked for more time, but the judge said he wants the matter to move forward.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Meg Rodriguez said  she too wants to proceed, in fairness to the victim.

Session, 49, of East Orange, has been held in the Morris County Jail since his arrest shortly after the alleged assault on Jan. 18, 2018. Handcuffed and wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, Session looked downward as he sat before the judge and did not speak during Monday’s brief proceeding.

Authorities say Session was burglarizing the victim’s apartment when she returned home from shopping just after 11 a.m. She told police the assailant demanded her credit card and ATM pin, smashed her cell phone and iPad, “attacked” her with a stun gun, tied her up, and sexually assaulted her. The woman sustained injuries to her wrist, finger and ankles.

Session told police the victim surprised him during the burglary. He admitted to tying her up, and to carrying a Taser stun gun, but denied the rape, court records state.

Court records also assert that Session confessed to five burglaries or attempted burglaries of Morristown apartments in November and December 2017.

Authorities charged him with three counts of aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping –all first degree crimes–along with six counts of burglary and three counts of attempted burglary, among other crimes.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Session could face life behind bars if convicted, based on at least 10 prior convictions stretching to 1990.

Session rejected a plea offer that would have dropped rape- and weapons charges if he  confessed to kidnapping and five burglaries. He would have served a minimum of 15 years in jail under that deal.

Immediately after the attack, some residents criticized police for not publicizing the string of burglaries that preceded it. Perhaps the victim would have been more wary had she known, some felt.

Morristown’s police chief at the time, Peter Demnitz, said he had declined to publicize burglaries in deference to the town’s business community. At a special public meeting, he pledged to reverse that policy.

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