Police: Man groped 2 women in Rutherford, including mother pushing her child in stroller

Police say Dennis Kwiecinski, of Lyndhurt, has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact for groping two women in Rutherford.

News 12 Staff

Apr 14, 2021, 9:44 AM

Updated 1,327 days ago

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Police say Dennis Kwiecinski, of Lyndhurt, has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact for groping two women in Rutherford.
The first incident happened around 6:45 p.m. Thursday.
According to police, a 28-year-old woman was jogging south on Carmita Avenue when a male in a dark colored pickup truck drove up alongside her from behind. Police say as the driver approached the victim, he leaned out of the driver’s side window and slapped the victim on her buttocks. The vehicle drove away from the scene.
The second incident happened Friday around 6:30 p.m.
Police say a 35-year-old woman was pushing a baby carriage north on Montross Avenue when a walking male suspect approached her from behind. Police say the suspect attempted to make conversation with the victim but when the victim declined, he ran up behind her and aggressively grabbed her genitals and buttocks. The suspect ran on foot to his dark colored pickup truck and drove away from the scene.
Investigators credit surveillance footage and community input for his capture.
"Late last week, Thursday and Friday, we had two incidents here in town,” says Chief John Russo. “An individual committed two acts of sexual contact. We had a bunch of good leads through residents, through our victims obviously, and our detectives did a tremendous canvas, and we were able to connect the dots."
Russo says tips also came in on social media.