Man, Girlfriend Charged In Connection With Sex Assault Of Child: Bergen County Prosecutor

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Ridgefield man was arrested on Monday for allegedly strangling, then trying to sexually assault a child under 13, and his girlfriend was separately charged for allegedly asking two children to lie about it, prosecutors said.

Julio Amaro-Vasquez, 33, was charged with attempted murder, attempted aggravated sexual assault, aggravated assault, attempted sexual assault by contact, and endangering the welfare of a child on Monday, said the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

Prosecutors said that on Monday, June 10, the Fairview Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit regarding an alleged attack on a child under the age of 13 in Fairview, prosecutors said.

The investigation determined that Amaro-Vasquez "strangled a child under the age of 13 to the point of unconsciousness, before attempting to sexually assault the child," prosecutors said Tuesday.

He was arrested in Fairview, prosecutors said.

He was taken to the Bergen County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, prosecutors said.

Separately, prosecutors announced on Tuesday the arrest of Marlin Cervantes-Santos of Fairview on charges of endangering the welfare of a child, prosecutors said.

"Further investigation into the incident [regarding Amaro-Vasquez] revealed that Marlin Cervantes-Santos, who was in a dating relationship with Amaro-Vasquez, had directed two children to provide false information to police during the course of the investigation," prosecutors said Tuesday.

Cervantes-Santos was arrested in Paramus and charged with two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, prosecutors said.

She, too, was taken to the Bergen County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, prosecutors said.