Judge wants woman's accusations against Jefferson man investigated

Stroy here. Excerpt:

'Suspicious that a woman concocted a tale of being threatened at gunpoint by her ex-boyfriend, a state Superior Court judge in Morristown has suggested that police and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office investigate the woman’s claim of being victimized.

“I’m going to reiterate: It appears you have grossly misused the domestic violence law,” Family Division Judge Thomas J. Critchley Jr. told Melanie Pilcher, 44, at a hearing in August.

“It’s foolishness what you’ve done and the banner under which you’ve marched. It’s on its face absurd some of the things you’ve been saying.” the judge said.

The current obstacle for the man Pilcher has accused — Jefferson resident Robert A. Mertrud, 55 — is that he remains criminally charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, a charge that alone carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison upon conviction.'