Man Secretly Recorded Chlid, Had 1,700 Kid Sex Abuse Materials: Bergen County Prosecutor

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Bergen County man was arrested on charges related to production of child pornography on Tuesday, and had also allegedly "used a hidden camera to record a child in their living area for the purpose of [his] sexual gratification," prosecutors said Tuesday.

Jorge E. Mendez, 56, of Garfield, was charged with first-degree production of child pornography and second-degree possession of child pornography, said the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

Prosecutors said that on Tuesday, members of their Cyber Crimes Unit searched Mendez's home.

"The investigation revealed that Mendez used the Internet to view, download and possess more than 1,700 items depicting nude and/or sexually explicit pubescent and prepubescent children," the Prosecutor's Office said in a release.

Mendez was arrested in Paramus and taken to the Bergen County Jail, awaiting a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.

Prosecutor Mark Musella thanked the Garfield Police Department as well as the Saddle Brook, Paramus, and Washington Township police departments, which participate in the Bergen County Cyber Crimes Task Force, for their assistance.