Man charged in robbery, sex assault and carjacking

NEWARK, NJ — Austin Be-Kwao, 23, of Newark, has been charged with robbing, carjacking and sexually assaulting a 55-year-old Newark woman, according to a July 28 press release from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

In July of 2019, the victim told police she was driving home from church and stopped to use an ATM on the 1000 block of Bergen Street in Newark when an unknown individual wearing a mask accosted her at gunpoint and demanded cash. He then allegedly ordered her back into the car and forced her at gunpoint to a second location, where he allegedly sexually assaulted her in the rear of the vehicle.

According to Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Conrad, who is handling the case, investigators with the Newark Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office obtained DNA evidence from the sexual assault, which was found to be a match to Be-Kwao’s DNA. The defendant is currently being held in Union County Jail.

These are accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless or until they enter a guilty plea or are found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

  Carjacking, Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Newark Police Department