Mercer Man Sexually Assaulted Child During Prayer Service: Prosecutor

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — A 51-year-old Mercer County man has been charged with aggravated sexual assault and other offenses after authorities said he sexually assaulted a child during a prayer service at an in-home chapel, Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey said.

Jose Agustin-Hernandez, 51, of Trenton is charged with one count of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, one count of second-degree criminal sexual contact and one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

According to allegations in the complaint and affidavit, on the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 23, during a prayer service at an in-home chapel on Hamilton Avenue in Trenton, a man entered a room where a six-year-old girl was sleeping and sexually assaulted her.

The child ran out of the room crying and told a family member. People from the residence attempted to chase down the man who fled out of the door and down to the corner, where they lost sight of him, Marbrey said.

Detectives with the Trenton police and the prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit spent the next few days interviewing witnesses and collecting and reviewing video surveillance footage from various locations in the area. They were able to identify Agustin-Hernandez as the man who entered the residence and committed the assault, Marbrey said.

Agustin-Hernandez was taken into custody in Trenton on Sunday, by members of the MCPO. The prosecutor’s office has filed a motion to detain him pending trial.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact prosecutor’s Detective Michael Wherley or Sergeant Sherika Salmon at (609) 989-6568 or mcposvu@mercercounty.org.