Suspect on parole charged with attacking woman in Newark park

NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Police say a man with a lengthy criminal history has been arrested and charged with attacking a woman in Newark.

The attack on the 34-year-old woman occurred last weekend at Branch Brook Park.

A dogwalker found her and took her to the hospital.

The suspect, 56-year-old John Wilson, was released from South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, N. J. for a 1999 Essex County manslaughter conviction and was still on parole after serving 17 years of a maximum 20-year sentence, authorities say.

Wilson was tracked to a halfway house on Newark's Fulton Street where he was taken into custody without incident.

Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said that Wilson had been on parole for one year and one day before the attack, which took place just yards away from the New Jersey Light Rail Station on Heller Parkway.

Wilson has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault.