Mercer County corrections officer charged with sexual assault

A county corrections officer was arrested Sunday and charged with sexually assaulting a woman in Trenton, law enforcement officials said today.

Donald Ryland, 44, has been charged with one count of second-degree sexual assault. Ryland is a corrections officer at the Mercer County Correction Center.

The assault allegedly took place on Oct. 6 after a woman entered Ryland’s vehicle in the South Broad Street area of Trenton. Ryland then allegedly drove to Cadwalader Park, where the woman left the vehicle. Moments later, she said she saw Ryland running at her. He knocked her to the ground and sexually assaulted her, she said. The woman fled the area and found refuge with two park guards at a security gate.

Police and Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office investigators said they spent the next week trying to identify the suspect. On Sunday afternoon, the victim recognized the suspect on the streets of Trenton and flagged down an officer. The woman was able to provide the officer with a description of the man and a license plate number. An alert was sent out to police officers and the vehicle stopped on Adeline Street.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the case should contact Mercer County Prosecutor Special Victim Unit Detective Anthony Petracca at (609) 989-6424 or Trenton Police Detective Laurel Rogers
at (609) 989-4155.