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Jose P. Manzano, a 39-year-old janitor, was found alongside his bed by officers conducting regular checks of the jail’s secure housing unit on Wednesday, Cureton said.
He had one end of a bedsheet tied around his neck and the other to his bed, the sheriff said.
“He appeared to have lowered himself, causing asphyxiation,” Cureton said.
Medical staff rendered aid before Manzano was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where the sheriff said he “passed as a result of deprivation of oxygen to his brain.”
Manzano apparently was on life support until being taken off on Thursday, sources with knowledge of the incident said.
He'd been brought into the jail on Tuesday after being charged with sexually assaulting an underage juvenile between 13 and 16 years old multiple times.
Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Manzano, who was married, was taken into custody after Ridgefield Park police contacted members of his Special Victims Unit earlier this week. Following an investigation, he was charged with aggravated sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact and child endangerment, the prosecutor said.
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