“Lewdness” a Pattern as Police Arrest Two Men at Herrontown Woods Park

Matthew Hersh

Police arrested two men who were allegedly engaged in a sexual act on an open trail in Herrontown Woods Park in Princeton Township last week, as the park falls under increased surveillance by plain clothes patrol officers.

The park was the same location where two men were arrested in May for a similar act.

The two men arrested, Greg Hunt, 53, of Montgomery Township, and Edward Crane, 85, of Princeton Borough, did not appear to know each other, according to Township Police Det. Sgt. Ernie Silagyi, but that they did appear to know that Herrontown Woods was a place where they could go to meet.

According to police reports, undercover officers spotted the two men engaging in a sex act and subsequently placed them under arrest, charging the two with lewdness. Mr. Hunt and Mr. Crane were both released on their own recognizance.

But the incident appears to be a pattern of individuals engaging in sex acts, Sgt. Silagyi said. In both the most recent cases, and the incident in May, he said that the officers were only in the park for a short amount of time before seeing “someone engaged in a sexual act right in front of them, right out in the open.

“We have heard that Herrontown Woods Park is listed on the Internet as one of the parks that’s frequented, but we’re still investigating that right now,” Sgt. Silagyi said, adding that officers are dispatched to the park periodically after receiving complaints from park users.

“We have received complaints and information from people using the park who have viewed this type of activity and we are attempting to respond to that,” he said. “This park is a public place.”

Sgt. Silagyi said that while it is not uncommon for couples to park their vehicles, these recent occurrences are “out in daylight hours, in the middle of a trail, where anyone, or any child, can walk up and see what’s going on.”

Herrontown Woods Park is the only known park in Princeton Township where sexual activity has been regularly spotted, Sgt. Silagyi said. “It’s the only park where we’re getting complaints from.”

In late May, police arrested a 27-year-old Edison man and a South Brunswick man for allegedly engaging in a similar act.

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