Pastor Charged with Sexually Assaulting 14-year-old in Newark

Newark — Acting Assistant Prosecutor Theodore Stephens, II, and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose announced today that Clifford Brower, 57, of Linden has been charged with sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child following  a joint investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Newark Police Department.

Brower, a pastor at Blessed Assurance Church in Newark, is alleged to have committed various acts of sexual assault upon a 14-year-old girl on August 5, 2019. 

Brower is currently being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office will be moving for detention. A hearing date has not yet been scheduled.

These are accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they enter a guilty plea or are found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Anyone with information regarding the case is urged to contact the Special Victims Unit of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office at 973-753-1130.