Man, 24, Charged In Sex Assaults On Teen Girl, Prosecutor Says

An Ocean County man has been charged with sexual assault on a teenage girl who was known to him, with the assaults going back several months, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office announced.

Gaudencio Cruz Martinez, 24, was arrested Thursday by Lakewood Police Officer Chase Messer and Detective Melissa Matthews of the prosecutor’s office’s special victims unit, and charged with sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.

Authorities allege Martinez sexually assaulted the girl, now 14, going back to when she was 13 years old, Della Fave said. Senior Assistant Prosecutor Terry Linardakis approved the charges, he said.

Martinez is being held at the Ocean County Jail, Toms River, in lieu of $75,000 bail, no 10 percent option, as set by Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels, he said. A no victim contact order and Nicole’s Law were implemented, Della Fave said, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities were notified, he said.