An illegal immigrant from Mexico has been indicted in the sex assault of a 9-year-old girl

Kathleen Hopkins:

An illegal immigrant who once worked for a family in the tony North Beach section of Long Beach Island has been indicted on charges of breaking into the family's home under cover of darkness to sexually assault the couple's 9-year-old daughter.

An Ocean County grand jury late Wednesday handed up an indictment charging Jose Omar Fernandez-Aguilar, 25, a native of Mexico who lives on Central Avenue in Ship Bottom, with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, child endangerment and burglary.

The indictment alleges that Fernandez-Aguilar entered a home on Long Beach Boulevard on July 3 with the purpose of committing a crime and, once inside, committed sexual assaults on the 9-year-old child.

Authorities have said that Fernandez-Aguilar, an illegal immigrant, had worked for the family and knew the layout of the house. They said he slipped through an unlocked sliding glass door before making his way to the girl's bedroom as she and her family slept in the early morning hours.

Although her assailant warned her to be quiet, the girl started to cry, alerting her parents, authorities said. The parents restrained the intruder until police arrived to arrest him.

The crime occurred in one of Long Beach Island's most affluent sections, where privacy and seclusion are a big draw.

Fernandez-Aguilar is being held in the Ocean County Jail, Toms River.

If convicted of the most serious charge against him, aggravated sexual assault, he would face between 10 and 20 years in prison. If convicted of sexual assault, he would face five to 10 years in prison.

In addition, the burglary and child endangerment charges against Fernandez-Aguilar carry potential prison terms of up to five years.

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