Date: January 6, 2025, 11:20 AM. 

Last updated on: January 6, 2025, 11:33 AM.

A man from New York whose assault of a Bally’s Atlantic City housekeeper led to the enforcement of a law requiring hotel workers in New Jersey to wear panic buttons may have his sentence reduced.

In April 2022, Jamel Carlton was found guilty by a jury of several offenses, including aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, burglary, aggravated assault, and criminal restraint related to an attack in a Bally’s hotel room in 2018.

He was then sentenced to 42 years in prison by Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Pamela D’Arcy, who referred to him as a “persistent offender.”

‘Rights Violated’

Recently, a state appeals court declared that a jury should determine whether Carlton’s sentence should be reduced. The court stated that D’Arcy violated the defendant’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights when determining the length of his prison term, according to NJ.com.

Although Carlton’s charges typically carried a sentence of 10 to 20 years, prosecutors sought a harsher punishment due to his criminal history and the severity of the crime.

The appellate panel ruled that the decision to extend the sentence should be made by a jury, not a judge.

Furthermore, the panel concluded that Carlton’s prior felony convictions in his home state should not have influenced his sentence.

Double Assault

On February 10, 2018, at 5:30 AM, Carlton was arrested by Atlantic City police for domestic assault, shortly after he was restrained by Bally’s security officers from attacking his girlfriend. The victim, his 41-year-old girlfriend, showed signs of physical harm and received medical attention at the scene.

Following a charge of simple assault, Carlton was released with a court summons. Later, he returned to the hotel and assaulted a 51-year-old housekeeper both sexually and physically, causing her to require hospitalization due to her injuries and trauma.

Carlton was identified as the perpetrator from security footage. When police tried to arrest him later, he fled and led them on a chase through the city before being caught.

After the incident, Ben Albert, a representative from the union Local 54 of Unite-Here, stated to NBC that housekeepers were outraged by Carlton’s actions and demanded changes. This led to New Jersey becoming the first state to pass a law requiring hotel staff at large hotels to wear panic buttons.