Arrest Made in NJ Home Ambush, Sex Attack: Officials

What to Know

• A man has been arrested in the sex attack of a young woman who was ambushed in her suburban New Jersey home, prosecutors said[hhmc]

• Muhammed Sharif, 40, of Irvington, was charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and burglary[hhmc]

• The attack put many residents in Maplewood on edge [hhmc]

A suspect was arrested in the home ambush and sex attack of a young woman that shook residents of a tight-knit New Jersey suburb, prosecutors said Sunday.

Muhammad Sharif, 40, of Irvington, was arrested Saturday and charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and burglary, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said.

Police say the woman young apparently encountered the man around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in Maplewood and he followed her home.

Then he sexually attacked her.

Young Woman Allegedly Raped in Maplewood Home

It's not clear how much time elapsed between the first encounter and the home invasion, nor was it clear if any words were exchanged in that encounter.

Sharif was being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark pending a court appearance. It wasn't immediately clear whether he had an attorney.

The investigation was ongoing.

Carolyn Kaster/AP

[contf] [contfnew]

NBC

[contfnewc] [contfnewc]