North Bergen Man Charged With Kidnapping & Raping Teen Girl
Saturday, October 18, 2025, 11:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
WEST NEW YORK, NJ.- On Thursday, following an investigation, a 43-year-old alleged child predator was taken into custody and jailed after being charged in connection with allegedly abducting a 14-year-old girl and sexually assaulting her at a Secaucus, New Jersey, motel.
According to Acting Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello, Jesus Ruiz Merino, 43, of North Bergen, New Jersey, was formally charged with two counts of first-degree Aggravated Sexual Assault; second-degree Sexual Assault; and third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
Ruiz Merino was taken into custody by Detectives of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office at his North Bergen, New Jersey home. He was processed on the charges and remanded to the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending future court proceedings in Hudson County Superior Court in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Arrest And Charges Stem From An Alleged Child Sexual Assault
The arrest and charges stem from an investigation that began on Monday, October 13, 2025, when the Secaucus Police Department was notified of a sexual assault that had occurred at a motel on Route 3 in Secaucus, New Jersey.
During the ensuing investigation, a 14-year-old girl informed Detectives that while she was in the area of 60th Street and Bergenline Avenue in West New York, she was approached by an unknown man who offered her a ride. Once she entered the man, who was later identified as Ruiz Merino, drove the child to a motel on Route 3 in Secaucus, New Jersey, where he sexually assaulted her.
Acting Prosecutor Mello commended the investigative work of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, the West New York Police Department, and the Secaucus Police Department, which led to the arrest of Ruiz Merino.
“The rules of the court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”
