South Jersey Man Found Guilty In Child Sex Assault Retrial: Prosecutor

CUMBERLAND COUNTY — A South Jersey man was sentenced to 16 years in prison last week for having sexual intercourse with a young child after a jury found him guilty for the second time.

Pascual Matias, 54, was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child on Aug. 4, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office said.

The charges stem from incidents that took place between November 2006 and November 2009 in Bridgeton and Greenwich townships, in which Matias engaged in sexual intercourse with a victim less than 13 years old, the prosecutor’s office said.

Matias was previously convicted of the same offenses - with the same sentence - after a 2017 trial, the prosecutor’s office said. An appeals court overturned that conviction, which led to his 2022 trial.

The court denied a motion for a third trial from Matias’ camp on Nov. 9.

Matias’ sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act; Matias will also be required to register for Megan’s Law and be subjected to parole supervision for life upon release.

— Reporting by Nicole Rosenthal