BRICK TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A 24-year-old man from Brick Township has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child following a disturbing incident involving an 8-year-old girl at a local Walmart, authorities announced Friday.
Sean Slowinski was arrested April 18 after officers from the Brick Township Police Department identified him as the suspect in an April 9 encounter at the Walmart store in Brick, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Brick Township Police Chief David Forrester.
The investigation began on April 16 when a woman contacted police and reported that her daughter had been touched inappropriately while standing in an aisle at Walmart.
The girl told investigators that a man approached her, grabbed her hand, and placed it inside his sweatshirt pocket before speaking to her briefly and walking away.
Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Brick Township Police Detective Bureau were able to obtain a description of the suspect, which led to his identification later in the week.
On April 18, officers responded to a shoplifting call at the Target store on Route 70. When they arrived, they positively identified the suspect in the shoplifting case as Slowinski, matching him to the earlier incident at Walmart.
Slowinski was taken into custody at the Target without incident. He was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is being held pending a detention hearing.
Investigation led to fast identification and arrest
Authorities credited the quick collaboration between law enforcement agencies for the arrest. “The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, Brick Township Police Department and Brick Township Police Department Detective Bureau” were acknowledged for their coordinated efforts, according to the official statement.
Key Points
- Sean Slowinski, 24, was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child after an incident at Walmart on April 9.
- He was identified after being apprehended in a separate shoplifting call at Target on April 18.
- The child reported that Slowinski grabbed her hand and placed it inside his sweatshirt pocket.
Slowinski remains in custody as the investigation and legal proceedings move forward.