MASSACHUSETTS MAN ARRESTED ON CHARGES HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN NORTH BERGEN

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

On Monday, July 26, 2021, members of the Arlington, Massachusetts Police Department arrested Wolide Yessuf, age 18, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, who was wanted on Hudson County charges that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in North Bergen.

Yessuf has been charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2a(7), a crime of the first degree; Sexual Assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2c(1), a crime of the second degree; and Endangering the Welfare of a Child in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(1), a crime of the third degree.

Yessuf met the victim on social media and in March the two – along with another female juvenile – traveled from Massachusetts to a motel in North Bergen, where Yessuf provided the victim with drugs and alcohol before sexually assaulting her.

Yessuf was arrested at the Arlington Police Department at approximately 1:45 p.m. without incident. He is currently pending extradition to New Jersey.

Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, the Arlington Massachusetts Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations – Boston Field Office for the investigation and arrest.

Anyone wishing to report a sex crime should call the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit (SVU) at 201-915-1234.  The above charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).