Man, 26, charged with assaulting boy

A 26-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old boy in a township home, according to authorities.

Jorge Hernandez, of Parsippany, was arrested early Saturday on charges of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree attempted aggravated sexual assault and second-degree sexual assault, said Capt. Jeffrey Paul, spokesman for the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

Hernandez also faces a second-degree charge of endangering the welfare of a child, Paul said.

Hernandez is an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, he said.

Hernandez was caught after an unidentified witness discovered him Friday with the child, authorities said.

When the witness asked Hernandez what he was doing, the man dropped to his knees and asked for forgiveness, Parsippany Police Detective Gloria Ortiz said in an arrest warrant affidavit.

Paul declined to elaborate on the relationship between the witness and the boy.

Police were told that Hernandez was a close family friend of the witness, who met him about two years ago when he moved to New Jersey. The two lived together for several weeks until Hernandez found his own apartment.

Hernandez moved back into the witness's home two weeks ago, the warrant affidavit states.

According to the document, Hernandez told authorities he assaulted the boy more than 30 times over the past three months, with most of the encounters occurring in the boy's home.

The document also states the boy told the witness that Hernandez "touched him on the buttocks" about four months ago.

Bail for Hernandez was set at $300,000, Paul said.

Eugene Paik is a reporter with the New Jersey Local News Service. He may be reached at (908) 243-6240 or epaik@njlns.com.