Men who taped autistic teen's jetty jump due in court

MANASQUAN – Two Howell men accused of enticing an autistic, diabetic teen to jump off a jetty are due to appear in municipal court Wednesday to face charges of endangering the man's welfare.

Nicholas Formica, 20, and Christopher Tilton, 19, are scheduled to appear before Municipal Judge Paul J. Capotorto at 9 a.m. Wednesday to hear charges filed against them by the mother of Parker Drake, the 19-year-old Howell man with autism who said he jumped off a jetty into the frigid ocean Feb. 25 on a dare from the two men.

Drake said the two men offered him $20 and two packs of cigarettes to jump into the ocean that day, when the water temperature was below freezing.

When he did, Drake struggled in icy water over his head while Formica and Tilton laughed and recorded a video of the ordeal which they later posted on the social media website Snapchat.

Drake's mother, Christine Marshall, said her son wears an insulin pump that froze while he was in the ocean. She said he could have drowned that day or died of hypothermia or because he wasn't getting the insulin he needs.

Manasquan police and the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office have declined to prosecute Formica and Tilton, both saying that since Drake is an adult, there is no law making what they did a crime. So, Marshall filed a complaint in municipal court last week charging the pair with a disorderly persons offense accusing them of endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.

Reports of Drake's ordeal and the fact that there is no law making such activity a crime have spurred calls from lawmakers to strengthen the law to better protect developmentally disabled adults. Senator Robert Singer, R-Ocean County, said on Friday he intends to introduce legislation making it a crime to endanger a developmentally disabled adult.

Formica and Tilton have both declined to comment on the case. Calls placed by the Asbury Park Press to their homes last week were met with requests never to call them again.

At the court appearance, Formica and Tilton will be advised of the charge against them and asked to enter a plea to the charge.

Marshall said she plans to attend the event and expects to be accompanied by some supporters carrying placards seeking justice for her son.

Marshall said she is not required to be in court Wednesday, but wants to go anyway.

"I just want to look them in the face,'' she said of Formica and Tilton.

Her son does not plan to attend, Marshall said, explaining that he has been too exhausted by the idea of reliving his ordeal.

Kathleen Hopkins: 732-643-4202; Khopkins@app.com.