Man Sentenced For Sexually Assaulting Child In Parsippany

PARSIPPANY, NJ — A man found guilty of sexually assaulting a child in Parsippany has been sentenced to nearly three decades in prison.

Amit Bhatt, 43, formerly of Parsippany-Troy Hills, was sentenced in relation to an aggravated sexual assault that occurred on Oct. 28, 2017, in Parsippany-Troy Hills Township.

A jury found Bhatt guilty of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, and child endangerment after a three-day trial in January.

Bhatt was sentenced to 29 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault and six years in prison for the other charges, though the sentences will run concurrently.

The sentence is in connection to the 2017 incident in which Bhatt sexually assaulted and inappropriately touched an 8-year-old, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said.

While in custody earlier this year, Bhatt was also charged with possession of child pornography.

• Read more: Child Porn Charges Filed Against Morris Plains Inmate

Bhatt will be ineligible for parole for the required 25 years under state law. When he is released from prison, he will be registered as a sex offender and will be subject to parole supervision for life, police said.

Bhatt has been ordered not to contact the victim, Morris County First Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood said.

Parsippany and Morris County authorities began an investigation into the incident in January 2022 after the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office alerted them of the victim's disclosure.

“Following Bhatt’s arrest in January 2022, a court-authorized search warrant was executed on his cellular phone. The cellular telephone was extracted and an analysis of the extraction revealed images of child pornography,” officials said.

Bergen County authorities charged Bhatt on Jan. 6 with third-degree possession of child pornography. Bhatt was served the charge while in custody at the Morris County Jail.