Levittown Man Pleads Guilty To Sex Assaults While N.J. Camp Counselor

LEVITTOWN, PA —A Levittown man has pleaded guilty this week to sex assault from August while he served as a counselor at a New Jersey camp, authorities said.

Joshua F. Daranijo, 24, of Levittown, pleaded guilty Wednesday to the crime, Hunterdon County First Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Paravecchia said.

Authorities said Daranijo openly admitted in court to sexual contact with children under the age of 13, and to possessing child sexual abuse material while a camp counselor at YMCA Camp Bernie in Ridgewood, N.J. He was charged in August.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 5.

Daranijo pleaded guilty Wednesday before Hunterdon County Superior Court Judge Angela F. Borkowski to three counts of second-degree sexual assault by contact and one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child for knowingly possessing items depicting the sexual exploitation of a child.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Daranijo be sentenced to concurrent 7-year terms in New Jersey State Prison which, under the No Early Release Act, will require him to serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

Upon his release, Daranijo will be required to register as a sex offender and be subject to
parole supervision for life.

The guilty plea followed an investigation conducted by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victims Unit.