FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Raymond Worrall

PHONE: (201) 795-6400 Ext. 6737

EMAIL:  rworrall@hcpo.org

DATE: June 19, 2019

UNION CITY MAN ARRESTED FOR AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT OF CHILD

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

On June 14, 2019, the Secaucus Police Department contacted the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit to report an alleged sexual assault of a 6-year-old female. After an investigation by SVU, a Union City man was arrested and charged with five counts related to multiple sexual assaults.

On June 14, 2019, shortly after 9:00 p.m., members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office SVU arrested Mario Buitrago-Sanchez, age 71, at the Prosecutor’s Office in Jersey City. He was arrested without incident.

Buitrago-Sanchez has been charged with two counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2, first-degree crimes; Sexual Assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2, a second-degree crime; Endangering the Welfare of a Child in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4, a second-degree crime; and Lewdness in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-4, a fourth-degree crime.

The investigation has revealed that Buitrago-Sanchez was a babysitter for the child and that the crimes occurred on multiple occasions in the Union City home of the defendant. Buitrago-Sanchez has been detained pending trial.

Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit for the investigation and arrest and the Union City Police Department and the Secaucus Police Department for assisting in the investigation.

The above charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).