A Hunterdon County couple known to police for a history of domestic violence calls has been accused of making up shocking accusations against several State Police troopers.
Randal “Randy” Kelco, and Lisa DeStefano, both of Bloomsbury, have been charged with second-degree making false reports to law enforcement.
State Police from the Perryville Barracks respond to police calls in the tiny community of less than 800 residents, as the borough does not have a local department.
The duo made up and repeated an elaborate story in which they claimed that several troopers sexually assaulted Kelco during an October 2023 response to a domestic dispute at their residence, state Attorney General Matt Platkin said, calling it a “malicious, self-serving hoax.”
Body-worn camera footage from the troopers and even Kelco’s own cell phone video directly contradicted the made up accusations, first reported to New Brunswick police and then repeated to a state detective.
The 35-year-old Kelco has remained in custody since an arrest in May, when police said he choked and attacked a domestic violence victim and threatened to kill responding troopers.
If convicted of the second-degree charge, both Kelco and the 45-year-old DeStefano face a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.
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