21°
Alejandro Velasquez-Martinez, a 48-year-old Colombian national living in Morristown, sexually assaulted the girl while doing tile repairs in her family’s home in Demarest the morning of August 19, 2019, jurors in Hackensack found.
Velasquez-Martinez was arrested in Demarest and then booked into the Bergen County Jail the next day.
Superior Court Judge Nina Remson, who presided over the trial, scheduled sentencing for Aug. 4.
Velasquez-Martinez faces a minimum of 25 years in state prison, along with lifetime registration as a Megan’s Law offender and parole supervision for life.
There's an added wrinkle: Federal authorities issued a detainer soon after Velasquez-Martinez was arrested that still remains in effect.
It’s now up to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) whether to take custody of him for deportation proceedings, wait until he’s sentenced or have Velasquez-Martinez serve his time in New Jersey before he’s deported.
Assistant Prosecutors Meredith Kunz and Katie McLaughlin of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit secured the May 12 guilty verdicts of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, and child endangerment, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
Detectives Christina Ferencevych and David Dermody investigated, he said.
The prosecutor thanked Kunz and McLaughlin “for their zealous advocacy and efforts to bring justice for the victim and her family.”
Musella also commended the member of his Special Victims Unit who worked the case, as well as Demarest police, for their “skill and professionalism in investigating this matter.”
Click here to follow Daily Voice Cliffside Park-Edgewater and receive free news updates.
