Chaperone charged
with harassment
DOVER, N.J. >> A chaperone who accompanied a cheerleader to Hawaii, where she died in a fall, faces a harassment charge after police say the woman visited the girl's grave against the family's wishes.
Lauren Crossan, 18, of Randolph, fell to her death in January from a ninth-floor balcony at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa less than 12 hours after arriving to perform during the halftime show of the Hula Bowl college football game.
Hawaii authorities have ruled Crossan's death an accident, saying her injuries were consistent with a fall and that there was no evidence of foul play.
Police say chaperone Sue Sadler, 42, of Randolph, has brought flowers and left at least two handwritten notes at the base of a memorial the family set up next to their daughter's mausoleum crypt.
"At some point in time, the family became aware of it and felt that it was harassing in nature," Capt. Peter Ugalde told the Daily Record of Parsippany.
Police said the Crossan family complained to police on May 20 that Sadler was leaving items at their daughter's grave.
Sadler acknowledged visiting the site at least three times a week to pay her respects, police told the Daily Record.
The Crossans asked Sadler to stop visiting the grave but she returned there this week and was spotted on the cemetery's closed-circuit camera leaving flowers at the site, Detective Steven Brennan said.
"It's extremely annoying and harassing to them," Brennan said. "It's very upsetting. They don't feel she has any right to leave any type of memorabilia on her memorial."
Sadler was in charge of chaperoning her own daughter, Crossan and a third Randolph cheerleader on the Hawaii trip.
Neither Sadler nor the Crossan family returned calls seeking comment on the dispute.
A plea date has been scheduled for June 8 in municipal court. If convicted, Sadler could face up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000 or both.
Police also said they are investigating a third note that had been found at the grave site Wednesday, which Brennan described as "very disturbing." The typewritten note made allegations about Crossan consuming alcohol and engaging in sexual acts, police told the Daily Record.
An autopsy showed Crossan had a blood alcohol level of .17, more than twice the legal drinking limit of .08 percent.