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May 30, 2023
Donna Jung, 57 and Helecia Morris, 41 Arrested
According to the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, on May 25, 2023, Donna Jung, 57, of Lehigh Acres, Florida and Helecia Morris, 41, of Brick Township, were found guilty of Endangering the Welfare of a Child in connection with incidents that occurred between April 1, 2015 and January 9, 2016 in Brick Township.
After a week-long jury trial before the Honorable Lisa A. Puglisi, J.S.C., the jury concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Jung and Morris abused and neglected a minor in their care. Jung and Morris are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Puglisi on July 7, 2023, at which time they face up to ten years New Jersey State Prison. Both Morris and Jung were remanded into custody after the jury delivered the guilty verdict. They will both remain in the Ocean County Jail until their sentencing hearing.
In response to a wellness check on Morris's biological son, age 8, on January 9, 2016, officers from the Brick Township Police Department and representatives from the Division of Child Protection and Permanency went to a home on Queen Ann Road. The boy was discovered by the responding officers locked in disgusting conditions in his room.
Urine odors also filled the space. The eight-year-old boy and two other young children were taken out of the house. They were brought to Brick Township's Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center to be examined by doctors. After then, foster care was given to all three kids.
The eight-year-old boy was locked in his room day and night by Morris and Jung, according to an investigation by the Brick Township Police Department and the Special Victims Unit of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. He was prohibited from using the bathroom at home and was not permitted to interact with the other family members.
The room was devoid of a bed, furnishings, lighting, and toys. Morris and Jung were taken into custody after detectives carried out a search warrant on the home on January 11, 2016, as directed by the court. Morris and Jung were driven to the Ocean County Jail before being granted bail and released.
