Judge delivers prison term in a chilling NJ kidnapping incident

◼️ NJ convicted kidnapper
◼️ Girl escaped from car
◼️ Prosecutor says ‘nightmare’ scenario

A 31-year-old Asbury Park man has been sentenced to 20 years in state prison for luring and kidnapping a then-11-year-old girl off the street in 2023.

Raquan M. Folk must serve at least 17 years before being eligible for parole.

Those terms were set by Superior Court Judge Paul Escandon during a hearing last week in Monmouth County.

In January, after an eight-day trial, a Monmouth County jury found Folk guilty of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree luring of a child and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

Kidnapping accusations against Raquan M. Folk

Folk had pulled up alongside the victim on May 30, 2023 before 5:30 p.m., as the girl was walking on Ridge Avenue in Asbury Park.

He convinced her to get inside the vehicle, according to investigators.

Folk drove the girl to neighboring Neptune Township, where he parked and told her to take her clothes off, prosecutors said.

Instead, the girl asked to use a bathroom and took the chance to run, flagging down a passerby, who took her to the Neptune Township Police Department.

Days later, Folk was arrested and has remained at Monmouth County Jail.

Prosecutor reacts to the crimes and sentencing of Raquan M. Folk

Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said the case “represented every parent’s worst nightmare.”

“Earning justice for the victim and the Asbury Park community at large was an imperative,” Santiago said in a written release on Wednesday.

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