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Lyndhurst man, 21, avoids prison for sex with minor

ONLY ON CLIFFVIEW PILOT: A 21-year-old Lyndhurst man was spared a prison term but will have to register as a Megan’s Law offender after admitting to having sex with a girl under 16.

Photo Credit: Mary K. Miraglia
Photo Credit: Mary K. Miraglia

Marco A. Galarza told a judge in Hackensack yesterday that he had sex with the girl in North Arlington and Kearny between June 2011 and March of this year.

Under a deal with Bergen County prosecutors, Galarza pleaded guilty to what amounts to a single statutory rape charge.

Superior Court Judge James J. Guida (CLIFFVIEW PILOT PHOTO: Mary K. Miraglia)

In turn, they dropped a second charge of impairing or debauching the morals of a minor and requested that Superior Court Judge James J. Guida sentence him to a year of probation.

“The state will also seek a no-contact order” under Nicole’s Law, in addition to the requirement that Galarza register as a Megan’s Law offender, said Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Dion Findley of the Sex Crimes Unit.

“Do you understand you will have to notify authorities if you move?” Guida asked Galarza, who was accompanied by defense attorney John J. Bruno, Jr. “Your pedigree – name, address, etc. will be posted on the Internet.

“Do you understand that? And are you still willing to plead guilty?”

Galarza, who attended college for two years, said he fully understood his rights and the provisions of Megan’s and Nicole’s laws.

Guida scheduled sentencing for Jan. 25. Galarza, meanwhile, remains free on $25,000 bail posted immediately after his March 22 arrest.

STORY, CLIFFVIEW PILOT PHOTOS: Mary K. Miraglia

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