SOMERSET COUNTY — A Middlesex County woman faces three years in prison after pleading guilty today to having sex with a 14-year-old boy and other offenses.
Joann Schwarz, 43, of Parker Street in Middlesex Borough, appeared before Superior Court Judge John Pursel in Somerville and admitted she had been intimate with the teen, who was known to her.
As part of the deal struck by Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Holly and public defender Robert Gaynor, Schwarz pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault and third- and fourth-degree endangering the welfare of a child. The prosecution agreed to drop one count in the indictment and will recommend that she be sentenced as a third-degree offender, Holly said in court.
Schwarz could have faced up to 10 years in state prison for a second-degree conviction, but Pursel told her he would sentence her to three years on Nov. 5.
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• Authorities say Middlesex woman had sexual relationship with 14-year-old boy
Dressed in a pink and black striped sweater and blue jeans, Schwarz answered "yes" to a series of questions that Gaynor and Holly asked her about the incidents that occurred between Dec. 1, 2008, and May 13, 2009.
During that same time period, in various towns — including Bridgewater and Franklin Township — she engaged in sexual conduct with the youngster, and she knew it would impair the youngster’s morals. She also received a sexually explicit video of the boy on her cell phone, she admitted.
After her plea, Holly asked Pursel to revoke Schwarz’s $50,000 bail. "She knows she’s going to go to jail for at least three years," and that increases her flight risk, Holly said.
Gaynor opposed the bail revocation, saying his client has a young daughter and a disabled son at home, and Schwarz is dealing with her own medical issues, as well as her elderly mother’s. "I think she’s a sure bet for coming here," the public defender said.
He added that the woman’s husband has cut her off. A friend posted the original bail.
Pursel increased bail to $75,000 and remanded Schwarz to the Somerset County Jail until she could post the additional amount.