NEWTON – The Newton officer accused of exposing himself to male drivers over a 7-month period last year has accepted a plea agreement that calls for him to resign from his job on the police force.
Jason Miller, 37, appeared before Judge Thomas Critchley in Sussex County Superior Court Monday with his attorney, Anthony Iacullo, for the first time since being arrested in November 2014.
Under the terms of the agreement, Miller pleaded guilty to turning off the video and audio components of his patrol car's dashboard camera system "to conceal unprofessional and inappropriate conduct" between March 1, 2014 and Oct. 23, 2014.
Additionally, Miller, who is currently suspended indefinitely without pay from the Newton Police Department, will be barred from seeking employment as a law enforcement officer in New Jersey, Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Greg Mueller said.
The state is also seeking that Miller serve 60 days in county jail, as well as be subject to a probationary period of between one and five years, Mueller said.
Miller's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 7.
An investigation was launched by the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office in late October 2014, when the Newton Police Department received two anonymous tips alleging that the 14-year-veteran of the force had unzipped his pants during "numerous" traffic stops of male drivers between the ages of 18 and 26.
Authorities said they took statements from drivers the officer had stopped, and reviewed dashboard camera footage captured from Miller's police car. He turned himself in at the prosecutor's office on Nov. 17, 2014 and was charged with two counts of official misconduct, one count of a pattern of official misconduct and one count of lewdness.
Miller, who was also ordered at the time of his arrest to surrender any firearms, remains free on $35,000 bail.
Iacullo declined to speak with reporters following Monday's hearing but last week told NJ Advance Media that if there "was anything" his client regrets it would be not "ensuring that his equipment was in proper working order or activating it so that his dialogue would have been preserved to refute these frivolous allegations."
Kimberly Redmond may be reached at kredmond@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @kr0618. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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