The initial allegations against Eridson Rodriguez in September 2020 were substantial.
Two young women accused him of sexually assaulting them while they were “intoxicated and incapacitated” during gatherings at his Liberty Street home in Hamilton in early 2019.
Detectives charged the 26-year-old with four felony sex assault crimes after investigating him for over a year.
After the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office publicized the initial two cases, four additional women came forward accusing Rodriguez of sexual assault. A judge ordered him detained pending the outcome of his case.
In June 2021, the case against Rodriguez looked formidable, on paper. Prosecutors obtained a 20-count indictment. The bulk of the charges were sexual assault or criminal sexual contact. Two charges were first-degree aggravated sexual assault of a helpless or incapacitated victim, court records show.
In February, Rodriguez accepted a plea bargain on a single charge of aggravated criminal sexual contact. The deal called for him to serve 882 days behind bars, or the time he’d been in the county jail, what’s known as “time served.”
Rodriguez will be subject to the state’s Megan’s Law sex offender registry and conditions of parole supervision for life.
A mother of one of the accusers followed the case intently, and watched it dwindle as it proceeded through Superior Court in Mercer County, all the way to the sentencing in June, when she was allowed to speak.
“It’s not even a slap on the wrist,” the woman said recently. NJ Advance Media not naming her, as it would identify her daughter.
Over several emails and phone conversations, the woman said she’s still in shock and furious at how a case that started so strong ended with Rodriguez getting time served.
Between the February guilty plea and the June sentencing, Rodriguez was released from jail and one of his accusers spotted him at a bar, she said.
“This has caused a lot of pain, and I still can’t believe how little justice was served for these young women,” the mother said.
“It takes my breath away,” she said. “It makes me feel like we haven’t evolved, that women are not important in the state of New Jersey.”
The Mercer County assistant prosecutor who handled the case, Tim Ward, declined to discuss it through an office spokesperson.
Rodriguez’s lawyer, Robin Lord, said she knows why the case ended this way. She said overzealous police work led to false allegations.
She said police and the prosecutor’s office specifically asked in press statements for anyone to come forward with allegations against her client. And when they did, the allegations did not hold up.
Lord said her investigation uncovered photos of Rodriguez in his home with the alleged victims - after the supposed assaults. Rodriguez was against taking the plea bargain, Lord said.
“He wanted to go to trial, but he also wanted to get out of jail, so he compromised,” Lord said.
Nevertheless, the accuser’s mother said she does not blame the prosecutor’s office or the assistant prosecutor. He did his “level best,” with the tools he had, and she now has an appreciation for the criminal justice system’s realities, she siad.
For example, she was initially satisfied Rodriguez will be subject to Megan’s Law, but he currently does not appear on the internet registry, which only lists tier 2 and tier 3 offenders. Rodriguez’s current classification is not known.
He also uses the name Erickson Rodriguez, and is not listed under that name either, records show.
Prosecutors need better tools, the mother said.
“Women matter. Young girls matter. They do not get enough justice,” she said.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.