Wayne Mall Worker Trapped Teen In Closet, Sexually Assaulted Her: Cops

WAYNE, NJ — A Willowbrook Mall kiosk employee trapped a teenage girl into a janitor's closet and forced her to have sex with him during business hours, officials charged.

The man also found the teen's Instagram account several days after the reported assault, according to court records.

Court records show that 23-year-old Denys Ludisaca worked at a t-shirt kiosk inside the mall. The teen victim told police that he sexually assaulted her on Jan. 11, while she was waiting for some friends to meet her.

Officers arrested him at Willowbrook Mall on Jan. 16, after an undercover detective was able to help confirm his identity. He faces charges of kidnapping, sexual assault, and child endangerment.

Ludisaca approached the teen after she left one of the mall bathrooms that day, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed with his arrest. The girl recognized him from previous visits, but didn't know his name and hadn't spoken to him outside the mall, she said.

Part of the affidavit obtained by Patch is redacted, but officials said Ludisaca eventually led the girl to "a small janitor closet" next to the restrooms, in a corner. Then, he blocked the door with his back to prevent her from leaving, pulled her pants down, and forcibly had sex with her, the affidavit states.

Ludisaca also forced his genitals in the girl's mouth before leaving the closet, officials said.

Upon meeting with her friends, the teen immediately told them what happened and they encouraged her to tell someone. She spoke with police later that day.

An undercover detective from the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office went to the mall on Jan. 14 to try and identify the man responsible. As the detective walked by the t-shirt kiosk, Ludisaca reportedly came up to them and grabbed them to get their attention.

Ludisaca showed the undercover detective some of the merchandise and asked for their Instagram handle "within minutes," the affidavit states. He also told the detective his first name.

The teen contacted police again on Jan. 15 to report an Instagram user whose profile photo "was of the man who assaulted her" had found her account.

She told police that Ludisaca had asked her for her Instagram handle the first time they spoke but she didn't give it to him, though he did know her first name.

Officials also used surveillance footage from the mall to confirm Ludisaca was the suspect, court records show.

A judge has ordered Ludisaca, a Little Ferry resident, to remain in the Bergen County jail while his case progresses.

Anyone with more information on this incident, or any possibly-related crimes, is asked to contact the Prosecutor's Office tip line at 1-877-370-PCPO.

A Willowbrook Mall representative said Ludisaca was not a direct employee of the mall, and that they could not speak on behalf of the tenant who employed him.

Original article: Man Kidnapped Teen, Sexually Assaulted Her At Wayne Mall: Prosecutor