Mansfield Township Accused Sexual Predator Charged With Drugging & Molesting Tenants
Saturday, January 24, 2026, 8:00 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
MANSFIELD, NJ.- Last month, a 60-year-old Mansfield Township, New Jersey, man will be facing, if convicted spending the rest of his life in New Jersey State Prison, after being indicted on 72 criminal counts in connection with allegedly drugging and then sexually molesting two tenants who rented rooms from him inside his home.
According to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw, in December 2025, a Burlington County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Craig Cardella, 60, of Mansfield Township, New Jersey, with seventeen counts of first-degree Kidnapping; eighteen counts of third-degree Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact; eighteen counts of third-degree Invasion of Privacy; eighteen counts of third-degree Endangering Another Person; and one count of fourth-degree Stalking.
On Tuesday, Cardella appeared in Burlington County Superior Court in Mount Holly, New Jersey, and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.
The charges stem from an investigation that involved two victims who were assaulted during separate time periods, each of which spanned several months. The investigation began in December 2024 after a man renting a room from Cardella reported to the Mansfield Township Police Department that he had awakened during the night to find Cardella in bed with him, holding a mask over his mouth and nose, while touching him sexually.
During the execution of a court-authorized search warrant at Cardella’s residence, Investigators located a safe inside Cardella’s closet. A subsequent search of the safe uncovered two bottles of liquid, later determined to be chloroform, as well as prescription sleeping medication, medical masks, a camcorder, and multiple digital storage devices. Detectives believed that Cardella used the chloroform to prevent his victims from waking up, thereby rendering them helpless.
If convicted at trial on all counts filed in the indictment, Cardella could be facing a maximum of over 640 years in New Jersey State Prison.
“The rules of the court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”
