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Eldrys Gonzalez-DeJesus, 44, faces five to 10 years in state prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 15 on the child endangerment conviction returned by jurors in Paterson on Friday, May 12, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said.
He'll remain held in the Bergen County Jail until then.
Members of the prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit began investigating after receiving a complaint in March 2022, Valdes said. They interviewed multiple witnesses, including the girl, who was 6 at that time, she said.
The child “disclosed that Mr. Gonzalez-DeJesus had sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions when she was five years old at her residence in Paterson,” the prosecutor said.
Gonzalez-DeJesus, who was arrested soon after, took his chances with a jury -- and in the end did way better than if he’d accepted a plea deal.
Gonzalez-DeJesus was originally charged with aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault.
These carry far more severe penalties upon conviction than the single "child endangerment through sexual conduct" count on which jurors eventually agreed, based on the defense mounted by attorney Genesis Peduto.
Gonzalez-DeJesus will still be subject to lifetime parole supervision and Megan’s Law sex offender registration in addition to whatever prison sentence he gets.
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