Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes announces guilty verdicts against Santos Granados, 43, of Prospect Park, New Jersey on February 15, 2017.
After a trial in Passaic County Superior Court before the Honorable Adam E. Jacobs, J.S.C., a jury found Mr. Granados guilty of one count of First Degree Aggravated Sexual Assault; one count of Second Degree Sexual Assault; three counts of Third Degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child and two counts of Fourth Degree Criminal Sexual Contact for sexually assaulting three female minors, who were the children of Mr. Granados’ close family friends.
During the trial, the jury heard from a number of witnesses including the three minors, who were twelve, fourteen and fifteen years old at the time of the offenses.
The State was represented by Assistant Prosecutor Anneris Hernandez of the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, Special Victims Unit, and Mr. Granados was represented by Peter Festa, Esq.
Based upon the First Degree Aggravated Sexual Assault conviction alone, Mr. Granados is facing a mandatory minimum term of twenty-five years to life in New Jersey State Prison by The Jessica Lunsford Act which became law in July 2014.
Additionally, Second Degree Sexual Assault carries a maximum term of ten years in New Jersey State Prison with 85% of the sentence to be served before parole; Third Degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child carries a maximum term of five years in New Jersey State Prison; and Fourth Degree Criminal Sexual Contact carries a maximum term of eighteen months in New Jersey State Prison.
Each of these crimes also carries the imposition of Megan’s Law and Parole Supervision for Life.
Upon his conviction, Mr. Granados was held without bail and remanded to the Passaic County Jail, and he is scheduled to be sentenced on May 19, 2017, before Judge Jacobs.