Monmouth County Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
A Lakewood man pleaded guilty to sex crimes against a 9-year-old girl in Ocean County Superior Court recently.
The defendant in this case, 27-year-old Lakewood resident Agustin Salvidar-Delvalle, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual assault before Ocean County Superior Court Judge James M. Blaney on Wednesday, July 20th.
The charges arose out of a coordinated investigation among members of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victims Unit, the Lakewood Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department. Investigators believed that Salvidar-Delvalle sexually assault the 9-year-old girl during two separate incidents between August and December of 2015.
On Wednesday, Salvidar-Delvalle, 27, admitted to the crimes for which he was accused, pleading guilty to one count of first degree aggravated sexual assault. In New Jersey, aggravated sexual assault is classified as a first degree crime, which is considered the most serious under the New Jersey Criminal Code. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2a, which governs these offenses, aggravated sexual assault is punishable by a sentence to serve between 10 and 20 years in New Jersey State Prison.
Moreover, these crimes are subject to the sentencing guidelines of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (“NERA”), which requires the defendant to serve 85% of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for parole. In addition to the aforementioned penalties, a conviction for aggravated sexual assault requires the defendant to register as a sex offender under New Jersey’s Megan’s Law.
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Salvidar-Delvalle will be sentenced after submitting to a psychosexual evaluation known as a Avenal evaluation. During this evaluation, the mental health professional will evaluate Salvidar-Delvalle’s likelihood to behave as a repetitive and compulsive offender. The presiding judge will consider these findings before he determines the appropriate sentence.
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