the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Hasbrouck Heights NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of CHELDON CLARE (DOB: 10/20/1978; married, retail gardening assistant) of 503 Prospect Street, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. The arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Jason Love, the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department under the direction of Officer In Charge Captain Joseph Rinke, and the Barnstable, Massachusetts Police Department under the direction of Chief Matthew Sonnabend.
On Thursday, September 9, 2021, the Children’s Cove Child Advocacy Center in Barnstable, Massachusetts contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit regarding an allegation of a sexual assault of a minor by CHELDON CLARE. The sexual abuse was alleged to have occurred in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey and in Massachusetts. An investigation was initiated by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department, and the Barnstable Police Department. During the investigation, it was learned that CLARE sexually assaulted the minor, who was under the age of sixteen on one occasion in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey and later traveled to Massachusetts to engage in sexual activity with the minor again.
Based on the investigation, on Friday, September 10, 2021, CHELDON CLARE was charged with one count of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2a(1); one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(1); and one count of third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3a. CLARE was remanded to the Bergen County Jail pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court.
Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.