Prosecutor: Bergen Man Struck Child in Face, Back with Belt

Police have arrested a Bergen County man they say struck a child in the face and back with a belt.

Luis Pacheco, 28, of Hackensack, was arrested on March 14 after the 3-year-old child’s preschool observed bruises and lacerations on the boy and contacted the Hackensack Police Department, who notified the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said.

Arrangements were made for the child to be interviewed by a detective from the Special Victims Unit and be medically examined at the Audrey Hepburn Children’s House in Hackensack.

During interviews with the child and his family, authorities learned Pacheco allegedly struck the child in the face and back with a leather belt, according to Molinelli. It is unknown what Pacheco’s relationship with the child is.

Pacheco was arrested and charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child and bail was set at $100,000 with no ten percent option, no contact with the victim and the surrender of his passport as a condition of bail.

He was remanded to the Bergen County Jail in lieu of bail.