FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Somerset County) — A Burlington County man has been arrested and charged with kidnapping and repeatedly sexually assaulting a woman over a 12-hour period inside her Franklin Township home, authorities said.
Walter Robinson, 40, of Edgewater Park, was taken into custody Wednesday, March 4 following an investigation by the Franklin Township Police Department and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said.
Police began investigating after receiving a 911 call at about 4:20 p.m. March 3 from a Franklin Township woman reporting that she had been sexually assaulted.
According to prosecutors, the woman told investigators Robinson arrived at her home around 3 a.m. despite being told not to come. The two had previously been in a romantic relationship that ended in 2024 but remained in contact.
After arriving, Robinson allegedly made a sexual advance that the woman rejected. Authorities said Robinson then retrieved a knife from inside the residence and threatened her life.
Prosecutors said the victim reported Robinson held her captive and sexually assaulted her multiple times over the next 12 hours, until he left the residence around 3 p.m. The woman told investigators she attempted several times to alert neighbors during the ordeal but was unsuccessful.
Detectives from the prosecutor’s office and Franklin Township police launched an investigation.
On March 4, investigators executed a Superior Court search warrant at Robinson’s home in Edgewater Park with assistance from the Willingboro Township SWAT team. Robinson was arrested without incident, authorities said.
During the search of the residence, investigators recovered a knife matching the description of the weapon allegedly used in the assault, prosecutors said.
Robinson has been charged with first-degree sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree strangulation, third-degree terroristic threats, two counts of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and two counts of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.
He was taken to the Somerset County Jail, where he is being held pending a court hearing.
Authorities are asking anyone with information related to the investigation to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit or the Franklin Township Police Department. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the STOPit mobile app or the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office tip line.
