NJ couple accused of making up story about rape by state troopers

🚨 NJ couple accused of fabricating explosive sexual-assault claims against State Police troopers.
📹 Body-cam and cellphone footage contradicted the Hunterdon County couple’s accusations.
⚖️ State AG calls the accusations a “malicious, self-serving hoax,” as the duo could face prison.

A Hunterdon County couple known to police for a history of domestic violence calls has been accused of making up shocking accusations against several State Police troopers.

Randal “Randy” Kelco, and Lisa DeStefano, both of Bloomsbury, have been charged with second-degree making false reports to law enforcement.

State Police from the Perryville Barracks respond to police calls in the tiny community of less than 800 residents, as the borough does not have a local department.

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AG: Claims of sexual assault by NJ troopers were a “malicious hoax”

The duo made up and repeated an elaborate story in which they claimed that several troopers sexually assaulted Kelco during an October 2023 response to a domestic dispute at their residence, state Attorney General Matt Platkin said, calling it a “malicious, self-serving hoax.”

Body-worn camera footage from the troopers and even Kelco’s own cell phone video directly contradicted the made up accusations, first reported to New Brunswick police and then repeated to a state detective.

Defendant jailed amid violent history with police

The 35-year-old Kelco has remained in custody since an arrest in May, when police said he choked and attacked a domestic violence victim and threatened to kill responding troopers.

If convicted of the second-degree charge, both Kelco and the 45-year-old DeStefano face a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.

Body-cam video contradicts accusations

Three troopers responded to a domestic call from the couple’s Bloomsbury residence on Oct. 23, 2023 just before 4 a.m.

Their body-worn cameras captured their interactions with the two individuals while they investigated for roughly 40 minutes, before bringing Kelco to a nearby hotel and then leaving all together.

On Oct. 24 around 1:30 a.m., Kelco checked in at the Emergency Department of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he and DeStefano told medical staff that Kelco had been sexually assaulted by troopers the day before.

They shared details with New Brunswick police who responded to the hospital.

The couple then filed a complaint with the State Police Office of Professional Standards, and told a detective in a Nov. 6, 2023 interview that Kelco was sexually assaulted by troopers.

Neither the body-worn camera footage, nor footage from Kelco’s own cellphone shows any evidence of a sexual assault or any other misconduct on the part of the troopers.

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Officials highlight importance of body-cam evidence

“This case clearly demonstrates how important body-worn camera video evidence can be to understanding events and fact-checking witness statements,” Office of Public Integrity and Accountability Executive Director Eric Gibson said in a written release on Tuesday.

“In this instance, those recordings provided exculpatory evidence showing these troopers were facing false, inflammatory allegations of criminal conduct,” Gibson added.

Kelco also has a criminal history, back to at least 2017, in which he admitted to making threats against police and drug possession.

During his May arrest, police said Kelco refused to let in responding troopers, before putting the female victim in a chokehold.

The bloodied woman was treated for a broken nose, a broken wrist and other cuts and bruises.

Several of the troopers also suffered cuts and bruising while putting Kelco under arrest at the scene, as he shouted vulgar and obscene threats at them, according to an affidavit of probable cause secured through the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office.

Kelco was believed to be under the influence of drugs at the time, the same police records said.

For the May incident, he is facing five counts of aggravated assault, four involving law enforcement and one involving a domestic violence victim, as well as obstruction and eluding.

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