Repeat NJ sex offender who raped woman in her bed sentenced

🚨 NJ man sentenced for sex assault, burglary

🚨 Went to victim's bedroom with knife

🚨 Rape happened months after release from prison

ASBURY PARK — A man who raped a teenage girl nearly two decades ago has been sentenced for raping another woman in her home, according to prosecutors.

Shawn Connolly, 37, of Asbury Park was sentenced to 40 years in state prison for the horrific 2021 sex assault, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced Wednesday.

He was convicted by a Monmouth County jury last September of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, first-degree armed robbery, second-degree burglary, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree terroristic threats, and three weapons offenses.

Connolly must serve at least 34 years of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Superior Court in Monmouth County (Google Maps)

Rapist went to victim's bedroom with a knife

Connolly broke into an Asbury Park home on 7th Avenue around 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, according to Santiago.

Investigators found that Connolly broke into the house through a kitchen window.

Wielding a knife, he went upstairs to the residents' bedroom. A sleeping man and woman jolted awake as Connolly threatened them.

Connolly ordered the man to leave the bedroom to get money. While grabbing the cash, the man also called the police.

But the man was out of the room, Connolly sexually assaulted the woman. Police arrived soon after and took Connolly into custody.

Rape happened months after release from prison

According to state Department of Corrections records, Connolly was held in state prison from April 2008 to May 18, 2021 except for two periods totaling around 16 months.

He had been convicted of first-degree sexual assault and terroristic threats for an incident in 2006.

The story is disturbingly familiar. Connolly, then 19, broke into a 15-year-old girl's home in Keansburg in 2006 and sexually assaulted her, the Asbury Park Press reported.

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