🚨⚖️ ADDITIONAL CHARGES FILED IN WASHINGTON BOROUGH CHILD KIDNAPPING CASE ⚖️🚨
Lester Noe Perez-Amador faces new charges of aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child following the kidnapping of a six-year-old girl in Washington Borough. The suspect is being held in jail as the investigation continues.
📍 WASHINGTON BOROUGH, NJ — Additional criminal charges have been filed against a 27-year-old Washington Borough man accused of kidnapping a six-year-old child from her home earlier this month.
The Warren County Prosecutor’s Office and Washington Township Police Department announced Tuesday that Lester Noe Perez-Amador has been charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
According to investigators, the additional charges were filed after the continued investigation developed evidence supporting allegations that Perez-Amador sexually assaulted the child following the alleged kidnapping.
🚨 The investigation began during the early morning hours of Saturday, September 5, when Washington Township police received a report of a missing six-year-old child in Washington Borough at approximately 2:51 a.m.
Police said their initial investigation determined that the child had been taken from her home. Approximately one hour later, officers located the child returning home on foot. She was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Investigators determined that Perez-Amador was known to the child, according to authorities.
Perez-Amador was initially charged with first-degree home invasion burglary and first-degree kidnapping. He remains detained at the Warren County Correctional Center in Belvidere.
⚖️ The state is expected to seek pretrial detention at a hearing anticipated to take place next week.
Authorities said multiple agencies have been involved in the investigation, including the Washington Township Police Department, Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, New Jersey State Police, Child Abduction Response Team, Sexual Assault Response Team, Warren County Regional Crime Scene Unit, FBI Newark Field Office, and police departments from Greenwich, Phillipsburg and Mansfield townships.
Warren County Prosecutor Jessica L. Cardone praised the coordinated response, saying the agencies involved worked toward the common goal of bringing the child to safety and that the prosecutor’s office will continue pursuing the case.
Washington Township Police Chief Christopher Jones also expressed support for the child and family while commending the agencies involved in the investigation.
📋 PENALTIES: The newly filed first-degree aggravated sexual assault charges each carry a potential maximum sentence of 25 years to life in New Jersey State Prison. The third-degree endangering charge carries a potential maximum sentence of five years.
The previously announced first-degree kidnapping charge carries a potential maximum sentence of life imprisonment with 25 years of parole ineligibility, while the first-degree home invasion burglary charge carries a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in state prison under the No Early Release Act.
⚠️ The charges are accusations only. Perez-Amador is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
📰 Garden State News Network will continue to follow this developing investigation and provide updates as additional information is released.