FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Raymond Worrall
PHONE: (201) 795-6400 Ext. 6737
EMAIL: rworrall@hcpo.org
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 2019
PASSAIC MAN ARRESTED AND CHARGED WITH AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT THAT OCCURRED DURING A 2007 BURGLARY IN NORTH BERGEN
Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:
At approximately 6:45 a.m. on Tuesday, August 13, 2019, members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit arrested Luis Santiago-Rodriguez without incident on Grove Street in Passaic for his involvement in an aggravated sexual assault during a burglary which took place in April 2007 in North Bergen.
Santiago-Rodriguez, age 42, of Passaic, has been charged with two counts of first-degree Aggravated Sexual Assault during the commission of a Burglary in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2; Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact during the commission of a Burglary in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3, a third-degree crime; Burglary in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2a(1), a second-degree crime; and Terroristic Threats in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-3, a third-degree crime.
Following his arrest, Santiago-Rodriguez was transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny pending his first appearance. The Prosecutor’s Office has filed a motion for pretrial detention of the defendant. A hearing is scheduled for Monday, August 19, 2019.
Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit for the investigation and arrest, the North Bergen Police Department for assisting with the investigation, and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office and the Passaic Police Department for assisting with the arrest.
On April 28, 2007, shortly after 6:40 a.m., members of the North Bergen Police Department responded to 74th Street in North Bergen on a report of possible sexual assault. Upon arrival, police officers were approached by a 44-year-old woman who alleged that she was sexually assaulted in her home by an unknown male who entered her apartment through a window. The victim was transported by Emergency Medical Services to Christ Hospital in Jersey City.
The above charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).