NJ Man Who Confessed Sexually Assaulting Child Sent To Prison

PASSAIC, NJ — A man who confessed to sexually assaulting a child over a period of three years at the child's Passaic home has been sentenced to prison, officials said.

Jose Elmer Enriquez of Paterson pleaded guilty last July to two counts of sexual assault, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. Officials had arrested him in 2020, after an investigation by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit.

Judge Imre Karaszegi, Jr. sentenced Enriquez to 12 years in prison on Feb. 9, Valdes' office announced.

Paterson Police contacted Valdes' office in July of 2020 "on the report of a child being sexually abused." Detectives from the prosecutor's office interviewed the victim and multiple witnesses, Valdes said.

The child victim told officials that the 48-year-old sexually abused them for a period of several years, at the victim's home in Passaic.

Upon release from prison, he will be subject to the special sentence of parole supervision for life, and must register as a sex offender pursuant to Megan’s Law.