Guatemalan National Held By Feds Charged With Raping Pre-Teen In Englewood

Melvin Zacarias-Esquivel, who's been living in an apartment over a Colombian restaurant on West Palisade Avenue, remained in federal custody at the Elizabeth detention center on Friday, April 26, records show.

Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Friday that members of his Special Victims Unit charged Melvin Zacarias-Esquivel with aggravated sexual assault and child endangerment for forcibly having intercourse with the victim.

They then served him with a criminal complaint at the detention center, the prosecutor said.

Zacarias-Esquivel is one of two men living in the city who were charged this week with child sex crimes.

SEE: Guatemalan National Held By Feds Charged With Raping Pre-Teen In Englewood

Whether or not Zacarias-Esquivel faces those charges is an open question.

An immigration judge will at some point hold a hearing in federal court in Newark to determine whether Zacarias-Esquivel should be deported – and if so, whether it's before or after he's prosecuted in Bergen County.

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