Man charged with sexually abusing two boys in New Jersey church

NORTH PLAINFIELD, NJ (1010 WINES/WCBS 880) — A New Jersey man has been arrested and charged after being accused of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old boy in a church bathroom late last month, sparking an investigation into a similar incident earlier this year, the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office said.

Pierre Joseph, 68, was arrested by officers from the North Plainfield Police Department on Sunday, June 23, and charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

On the day of Joseph’s arrest, police responded to a 911 call at around 4:40 p.m. reporting a possible sexual assault of a minor at a local church that had occurred earlier that day.

Officers were told that Joseph, of Plainfield, was being held at the church until they arrived, after which he was taken to the station for questioning.

The public prosecutor did not name the church.

The seven-year-old was interviewed by a detective from the Special Victims Unit at the prosecutor’s office’s Child Advocacy Center and stated that a church member followed him into the bathroom, pulled down his pants and underwear and touched him.

Prosecutors said the child first reported the incident to another church member, who in turn reported it to the church’s pastor.

The investigation revealed that a nine-year-old boy claimed he was the victim of a “similar incident” involving Joseph in January or February.

The child was subsequently interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center and told a detective that he had been touched in his private area in the church restroom.

Joseph is currently in the Somerset County Jail awaiting his detention hearing.

Anyone with information about the sexual assault is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at 908-231-7100 or the North Plainfield Police Department at 908-769-2900 or submit an anonymous report through the STOPit app.