Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrests of 47-year-old FRANCISCO A. SERPAS and 37-year-old ANGEL W. SERPAS, both of Wood-Ridge, NJ, on charges of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, and endangering the welfare of a child. The arrests were the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck and the Wood-Ridge Police Department under the direction of Chief Michael O’Donnell.
On Thursday, February 13, 2025, the Wood-Ridge Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit regarding the alleged sexual assault of a juvenile that occurred in the past. An investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Wood-Ridge Police Department revealed that FRANCISCO A. SERPAS and ANGEL W. SERPAS sexually assaulted and endangered a juvenile on multiple occasions between January 2021 and December 2022 in Wood-Ridge, NJ.
As a result of the investigation, on Friday, February 21, 2025, FRANCISCO A. SERPAS and ANGEL W. SERPAS were arrested in Paramus, NJ and each charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2a(1); second-degree sexual assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2b; and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(1). FRANCISCO A. SERPAS and ANGEL W. SERPAS were remanded to the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, NJ.
Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations, and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He would like to thank the Wood-Ridge Police Department for its assistance in this investigation.