A Kearny man has been arrested and charged with sex crimes following an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lyndhurst Police Department, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced today.
Fernando Valladares, 57, of Kearny, a married music instructor, was charged with of sexual assault by sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child, Musella said.
According to Musella:
On Thursday, June 17, 2021, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office received information from the Lyndhurst Police Department that Valladares allegedly engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a child under the age of 13 while he was in Lyndhurst.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victim’s Unit and the Lyndhurst Police Department initiated an investigation, during which it was learned Valladares engaged in the alleged conduct on multiple occasions while instructing the child in music.
As a result of the investigation, on June 22, 2021, Valladares was arrested and charged by the Lyndhurst Police Department with one count of second-degree sexual assault by sexual contact and one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Musella said.
Valladares was transported to the Bergen County Jail, Hackensack, pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court. As of the time this story was posted, he was not granted bail and is on remand.
The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office’s inmate website reveals Valladares is a citizen of Venezuela.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.