Officer charged in theft from youth police post
Sergeant accused of stealing from Explorers account
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

Police Sgt. Eric Rahn is pictured in a 2003 card issued as part of a department-wide public relations program.

MILLTOWN - A borough police sergeant stands accused of stealing more than $1,000 from the youth police group for which he served as chief adviser.

Police Sgt. Eric Rahn, 41, was charged last week with official misconduct and theft, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. Rahn, a 22-year veteran of the police force, cashed checks made out to "cash" from the Milltown Police Explorers' bank account between January 2003 and March 2007, the prosecutor's office said in a press release.

As head of the Explorers program, Rahn was the sole signatory on the program's bank account.

"It's sad, there's no question about it," Mayor Gloria Bradford said of the allegations.

The charges were the result of an investigation conducted by both the Milltown Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Special Prosecutions Unit.

Rahn, who was already on administrative leave from the police department for unrelated reasons, was suspended without pay due to last week's charges, according to Milltown Chief of Police Raymond Geipel.

Neither Geipel nor Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Brian Gillet would comment on the reason for the prior administrative leave.

The complaint against Rahn was signed last Thursday, and he was served with the summons Friday.

Rahn, who resides in Milltown, was released on his own recognizance Friday, Geipel said. No bail was set.

According to Gillet, Rahn was scheduled to appear later this week for a preliminary hearing before a state Superior Court judge in New Brunswick.

Both Geipel and Gillet said that because the investigation is ongoing, they could not divulge certain details of the case.

If convicted, Rahn could face a maximum of 10 years imprisonment and a $150,000 fine for the second-degree misconduct charge, and a maximum of five years in prison and a $15,000 fine for the third-degree theft charge.

The Police Explorers is a group sponsored by the police department, for youths with an interest in police work. It is meant to provide youngsters, mostly between the ages of 13 and 20, with education and training. Some of the money dedicated to the organization goes toward educational field trips for the Explorers, Geipel said.

Before joining the Milltown police force in July 1989, Rahn worked for more than five years with the Somerset County Sheriff's Department.

In May 2000, Rahn formed the local Police Explorers post. According to a promotional card the police department issued in 2003 for each officer, Rahn has a wife and two children, and was assigned to patrol and traffic safety.