Lumberton Township Mayor Gina LaPlaca was indicted on child abuse charges Thursday, Burlington County officials said.
Burlington County prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw announced that the 46-year-old mayor of the New Jersey township was indicted on charges of failing to protect her young child, who was inside the car while she was allegedly driving drunk.
A grand jury charged LaPlaca with endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse offenses. She is scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 8 in Superior Court in Mount Holly, New Jersey.
The charges stem from an investigation in March, when LaPlaca was allegedly seen driving and not staying in her lane. A criminal complaint said that she almost collided with a utility pole.
Officers eventually pulled LaPlaca over, and she admitted she had been drinking and had recently picked up her child from day care. Her child was in a car seat in the back of the vehicle.
Police conducted field sobriety tests and searched LaPlaca’s car, finding an open alcoholic beverage container. She went to rehab after she was arrested.
A member of the Democratic Party, she previously ran for a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly to represent the 8th District. She lost that 2019 race.
LaPlaca also previously served as business administrator of Neptune Township in Ocean County, but recently quit, according to the Asbury Park Press newspaper.
