the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgefield NJ, a Bergen County judge has denied the release of Julio Amaro-Vasquez, 33, of Ridgefield, who is accused of attempting to strangle an 11-year-old girl. The decision came during a detention hearing on June 26, where Judge Vincent Militello ruled that Amaro-Vasquez should remain in jail while awaiting trial.
Amaro-Vasquez faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, attempted aggravated assault, sexual assault, aggravated assault, attempted sexual assault by contact, and endangering the welfare of a child. Assistant Prosecutor Nicole Paton argued against his release, citing the severity of the charges.
During the hearing, Paton provided a summary of the victim’s statement to police. The girl reported waking up in the middle of the night to find Amaro-Vasquez, who is dating her mother, Marlin Cervantes-Santos, 30, of Fairview, in her room. She did not know how he entered the room. Cervantes-Santos has also been arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
According to Paton, the victim stated that Amaro-Vasquez threatened her, covered her mouth, and applied pressure, causing her to struggle to breathe. The situation escalated when she ended up on the floor, and Amaro-Vasquez allegedly strangled her until she lost consciousness.
“When she woke up, she was naked, and Amaro-Vasquez was still in the room, staring out the window,” Paton explained. The victim then fled the room and encountered her 13-year-old brother and their aunt, who was babysitting them. The brother provided a statement to the police, confirming he saw Amaro-Vasquez naked in the bedroom.
Photographs of the victim’s injuries were presented, showing severe damage, including nearly completely blown-out blood vessels in her right eye and cuts on her left cheek and right arm. Paton emphasized that Amaro-Vasquez did nothing to assist the victim after she lost consciousness.
Amaro-Vasquez’s attorney, Aaron Miller, argued that the injuries did not support an attempted murder charge but rather a second-degree aggravated assault. He questioned the accuracy of the allegations and suggested that the court could impose restrictions to ensure Amaro-Vasquez’s presence in court, despite his previous failures to appear several years ago.
Judge Militello, however, sided with the prosecution, giving significant weight to the victim’s statement and corroborating statements from her brother and aunt. “Why is an 11-year-old naked in a bedroom with a 33-year-old?” Militello questioned. “That is very, very strong evidence.”
Amaro-Vasquez has seven days to appeal the decision. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 11.
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in prison his name will be jellybuns
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