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The man’s identity is being withheld to protect the privacy of the victim, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens, II said.
The girl, now 16, testified against her stepfather and said the abuse began when she was 11 and continued until she was 14, Stephens said.
The sexual assaults occurred in different homes that the family lived in during the time period of the assaults, Stephens said. The defendant committed the assaults while the victim’s mother was at work, Stephens said.
Upon learning of the abuse in November 2022, the victim’s mother contacted her aunt, who then contacted police, Stephens said. The defendant was arrested later that month.
He was convicted of eight counts of sexual contact and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, Stephens said. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January and will be forced to register as a sex offender, Stephens said.
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