Jesse K. Timmendequas (born April 15, 1961)[1] had two previous convictions for sexually assaulting young girls.

In 1979, he pleaded guilty to the attempted aggravated sexual assault of a five-year-old girl in Piscataway Township, New Jersey.

In 1981, Timmendequas pleaded guilty to the assault of a seven-year-old girl and was imprisoned at the Adult Diagnostic & Treatment Center (ADTC) in Avenel, New Jersey, for six years.

[3] Evidence included bloodstains, hair and fiber samples, as well as a bite mark matching Kanka's teeth on Timmendequas' hand.

[4] Congressman Dick Zimmer stated, "I believe he is exactly the kind of predator that the legislature had in mind when it enacted the death penalty.