Bergen Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Minor: Prosecutor

WOODCLIFF LAKE, NJ — A Woodcliff Lake man with a lofty title from Columbia University has been charged with sexually assaulting a minor after the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said he engaged in sexual acts with a child under the age of 13.

Marcelo Velez, 56, was arrested Sunday after an investigation found that Velez engaged in sexual activity with a minor at his Woodcliff Lake residence, the Prosecutor's Office said.

He is being held in Bergen County Jail after he was charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault by sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child.

Velez has been an employee at the esteemed New York City university since 1995, according to his university profile.

His current role is as the Vice President of Manhattanville Development, where he is the university's "point person on all aspects of development, design and construction of the University's 6.8 million sq. foot Manhattanville in West Harlem campus expansion."