The man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Highland Park last month appeared for a detention hearing on Tuesday.
NEW BRUNSWICK -- Jarring details were heard Tuesday at a hearing for a 23-year-old man accused of raping and beating a Highland Park woman in front of her 9-month-old child last month.
Brandon Cox, of the Somerset section of Franklin Township, appeared for a detention hearing in Middlesex County court, where a judge detained him without bail.
Cox faces charges of kidnapping, attempted murder, sexual assault and weapons charges in the Feb. 19 attack of a 36-year-old woman who was walking with her 9-month-old child in Highland Park. He is facing a life sentence.
The detention hearing was required under the state's new bail reform guidelines, which requires people being held in jail to appear before a Superior Court judge within three to five days after their initial hearing. The hearing determines defendants' level of danger or flight risk when deciding whether to have them held in jail to await trial.
Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Allysa Gambarella, who represented the state in the matter, said Cox posed a severe danger to the community and was a flight risk.
Superior Court Judge Dennis Nieves, who presided over the hearing, said Cox's defense attorney -- David R. Oakley -- failed to sufficiently rebut the state's evidence and ordered that he be held.
During the hearing, Gambarella outlined jarring details about the night of the incident.
The woman was walking on Harper Street with her 9-month-old child around 5:30 p.m. when she was approached by Cox, who was armed with a handgun, officials have said.
Gambarella said that Cox then allegedly dragged her into the basement of a nearby apartment building at gunpoint "where she was beaten repeatedly," causing her to suffer a fractured skull and a broken nose.
"She had to get stitches all over her face to repair the damage," said Gambarella, who added that Cox allegedly sexually assaulted the woman in front of her child.
She added, "When the child began to cry, he threatened to kill the child" if the woman did not quiet it.
After the alleged assault, Cox then fled the area, according to officials.
According to Gambarella, police discovered a blue surgical glove lying outside the basement of the apartment, which she alleged Cox had been wearing during the incident. She said the glove had DNA linking Cox to the crime.
She also alleged that Cox stole the woman's credit card, debit card and $3 from her purse. Gambarella said -- in addition to Cox being captured on video surveillance footage -- Cox's girlfriend was also captured by surveillance cameras attempting to use the woman's ATM card at a bank.
In 2014, Cox was charged with sexually assaulting a teen and served more than a year in jail following a plea deal.
Though he was not listed on the state's website as a registered sex offender, Gambarella said he should have been under Megan's Law but failed to notify local law enforcement.
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.