Man Sexually Assaults Child Multiple Times In Bergen: Police

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — An out-of-stater stands accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy on two separate occasions, according to authorities.

Eric Palese, 27, of New York, was linked to the alleged sexual assault of a child in River Edge, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.

Palese, a warehouse manager, was charged Thursday with sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal sexual contact. He was remanded to the Westchester County Jail pending extradition to Bergen County, Musella said.

An investigation revealed that Palese arranged to meet with the boy, who was between the ages of 13 and 16 at the time, via social media, and sexually assaulted him in River Edge on two occasions in March, the prosecutor's office and a complaint said.

Palese was at least four years older than the teen at the time, and sexually assaulted the boy inside the defendant's vehicle, while it was parked in the township, the complaint said.