Man Raped 11-Year-Old Girl, NJ Prosecutor Says

HAWTHORNE, NJ — A 20-year-old Paterson resident has been charged with raping a child last year in Hawthorne, officials announced.

Hawthorne Police began investigating the case on April 3, 3023, after getting a report that an 11-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted in the borough.

Police and the Passaic County Prosecutor announced that authorities arrested Rossember Andrade Requeno exactly one year later in Totowa, after connecting him to the crime.

Andrade Requeno has been charged with one count of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, said Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Hawthorne Police Chief James Knepper in a joint news release.

Andrade Requeno was taken to the Bergen County Jail, officials said. The State filed a motion for pretrial detention, and he is still listed as an inmate as of Wednesday morning, April 10.

If convicted of first-degree sexual assault, he faces a sentence of 15 years to life imprisoned in New Jersey State Prison. The third-degree charge of endangering the welfare of a child carries a sentence of three to five years in prison, officials added.

If convicted, Andrade Requeno would also be subject to Megan’s Law registration requirements and parole supervision for life.