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Victor E. Meza Valdez, 26, of Ringwood, was arrested on June 20, by detectives with the Passaic County Sheriff's Office on a warrant out of McHenry County, IL, Acting Passaic County Sheriff Gary Gairdina said.
During the search of Valdez's home, detectives seized several of his electronic devices, which will be transferred to the McHenry County State Attorney’s Office.
Valdez faces various child pornography charges, along with grooming, and sexual exploitation of a minor, Gairdina said. He was also charged with fugitive from justice and lodged in the Bergen County Jail pending extradition to Illinois.
A spokesperson for the Ringwood Ambulance Corps tells Daily Voice that Valdez was hired in March, and was in the training phase of his career at the time of his arrest. Valdez was subject to a background check prior to being hired for the ambulance corps, which he passed, officials said.
Valdez began driving on May 28 of this year, a spokesperson said. As part of his training, Valdez was part of a crew containing at least two other adult members at all times, officials with the ambulance corps said.
The charges originated from an investigation conducted by the McHenry County State Attorney’s Office, Crimes Against Children Task Force.
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