Jesse Timmendequas
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Jesse Timmendequas (April 15th, 1961 - ) is a convicted sex offender who kidnapped, raped, and strangulated Megan Kanka, who was 7 years old at the time.
Biography edit
Timmendequas had two previous convictions for sexually assaulting young girls. In 1979, he pleaded guilty to the attempted aggravated sexual assault of a five-year-old girl in Piscataway Township, New Jersey. He was given a suspended sentence, and after failing to attend counseling, he was sent for nine months to the Middlesex Adult Correctional Center. In 1981, Timmendequas pleaded guilty to the assault of a seven-year-old girl, and was imprisoned at the Adult Diagnostic & Treatment Center (ADTC) in Avenel, New Jersey, for six years.
Timmendequas reportedly participated little in the treatment program offered at the ADTC. He was described by one therapist who treated him at the facility as a "whiner" who spent most of his time sleeping. Another therapist stated that she had believed that Timmendequas would eventually commit another sex crime (although she did not believe he would commit murder.)
On July 29, 1994, Timmendequas lured Kanka into his house, raped her, and then killed her by strangulation with a belt. He then placed her body in nearby Mercer County Park. The next day, he confessed to investigators and led police to the site.
Evidence included bloodstains, hair, and fiber samples, as well as a bite mark matching Kanka's teeth on Timmendequas' hand, and led to a guilty verdict on charges of kidnapping, four counts of aggravated sexual assault, and two counts of felony murder—causing a death in the course of certain specific felonies. The court sentenced Timmendequas to death, and the sentence was upheld by the New Jersey Supreme Court on appeal. Congressman Dick Zimmer stated, "I believe he is exactly the kind of predator that the legislature had in mind when it enacted the death penalty."
Timmendequas remained on New Jersey's death row until December 17, 2007, when the New Jersey Legislature abolished the state's death penalty. As a result of the ban, Timmendequas' sentence was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
His crimes are the reason behind the creation of Megan's Law, which requires notification when a previously convicted sex offender moves into a neighborhood.