Erich A. Bennett

Overview

Erich A. Bennett, a former Sea Bright, New Jersey police officer, pleaded guilty to stalking and threatening an ex-girlfriend after using law-enforcement databases more than 30 times without authorization to track her and her associates. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

Description

After a brief dating relationship ended in late November 2022, Bennett engaged in a months-long campaign of intimidation from October 2022 through January 2023. He disabled the victim’s home security cameras, slashed her tires and keyed her car, and threatened her with physical harm and sexual mutilation — in person and via a fake social-media account. He accessed state law-enforcement databases on 30+ occasions for non-official purposes to pull personal information on the victim and at least four of her associates. Bennett pleaded guilty in Monmouth County Superior Court to third-degree computer theft and criminal mischief, and fourth-degree stalking and hindering apprehension. He received a five-year prison sentence, forfeited his right to hold public office in New Jersey, surrendered his firearms, and was placed under a permanent restraining order.