The Morristown teen accused of sexually assaulting a woman on the Traction Line recreation path last week allegedly menaced the victim with a rock and a stick, slapped her, and threatened: “I will finish you.”
Lizandro Osorio-Mejia, 18, allegedly demanded money, got none, and then attempted to force the victim to perform oral sex.
“Startled” when the victim bit his penis, he fled with his 17-year-old lookout, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Morristown Green.
Two days after the May 3, 2022, attack, detectives observed both suspects exiting an apartment building on Speedwell Avenue in Morristown. Authorities had released a composite sketch and images from security cameras.
Osorio-Mejia admitted committing the sexual assault, attempting to rob the victim, stealing a pair of bicycles from Shepard Place, and conspiring with his lookout on the robbery and the bike thefts, according to a sworn statement by Det. Sgt. Anthony Brunone of the Morris County Sherriff’s Office.
Authorities have withheld names of the juvenile and the 57-year-old victim, who they say did not know the teens.
The victim sustained a fractured left knee; the assailant pinned her to the ground with his knees, a complaint warrant stated. Authorities say Osorio-Mejia pushed the victim into a wooded area around 3:41 on a Tuesday afternoon.
She was found that day by a man walking his dog on the Traction Line, about 100 yards from an overpass near the intersection of Washington Avenue and Normandy Parkway, close to the Morristown/Morris Township border.
The man called 911 to report a woman apparently had fallen and injured her left knee. He had difficulty understanding the woman, who spoke Spanish. He told the dispatcher the woman was conscious and alert.
Two other passersby also spoke to the woman. Based on what they gleaned, the 911 caller added: “It sounds like she might have been pushed. You might want to send police, too….It sounds like someone might have assaulted her.”
The victim told investigators she had been taking a walk along the Traction Line when she saw someone clad in black hiding behind a wall of the Normandy Parkway overpass, peering around a corner. Authorities say this was the lookout.
Then the victim noticed an individual in a white polo shirt and jeans–Osorio-Mejias, authorities say. Officers found a bicycle with a red reflector near the overpass and seized it as evidence. The reflector’s significance was not explained in the affidavit.
Osorio-Mejia is charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, and one count of sexual assault, a second-degree offense.
Additional charges include two counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact (third degree), criminal sexual contact (fourth degree); possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, terroristic threats and aggravated assault, all third-degree crimes; and theft, (fourth degree).
Osorio-Mejia, single and unemployed, is being held in the Morris County Jail, according to authorities.
The juvenile faces charges of robbery, as an accomplice, a first degree offense; conspiracy to commit robbery (second degree); and theft (fourth degree). He was released to the custody of his guardian.
Detective Lydia Negron of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and Brunone of the Sheriff’s Office were the principal investigators.
Paralleling NJ Transit Morris & Essex Line tracks, the 2.7-mile Traction Line Recreational Trail extends from Morristown to Madison. It passes St. Elizabeth and Fairleigh Dickinson universities and is popular with cyclists and joggers.
This story has been updated with the age of the victim and details about the defendants’ detention.
