33-Year-Old Coach Charged with Sexual Assault, Endangering the Welfare of Children and Lewdness

Published on August 20, 2020

August 20, 2020

Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Acting Chief of Investigations Christoph Kimker, and Riverdale Police Department Chief Kevin Smith announce the arrest of Alejandro Almazan, age 33, of Pompton Lakes. Almazan has been charged with two (2) counts of Sexual Assault, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2b, crimes of the second degree; Endangering the Welfare of Children, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(1), a crime of the third degree; and Lewdness, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-4b(1), a crime of the fourth degree.

It is alleged that on August 9, 2020, the 11-year-old female victim had a private soccer lesson with the defendant. The defendant is known to the victim as he is her coach through the Ramapo Youth Soccer Association; however, he was hired by third-party training company, First Shot Soccer. During the lesson, the defendant had the victim jog with him to a private area within Independence Field in Riverdale. During this time, the defendant contacted the child's intimate body parts over her clothing. The victim also disclosed that the defendant pulled up his shorts and exposed his penis to her.

Prosecutor Knapp would like to thank the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit and the Riverdale Police Department, whose efforts contributed to the investigation of the matter.

Anyone with information relating to this incident is encouraged to call Det. Lydia Negron of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office at 973-285-6213 or the Riverdale Police Department at 973-835-0034.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. Despite this accusation, the defendant is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Inquiries concerning this press release should be directed to Public Information Officer Meghan Knab at mknab@co.morris.nj.us or 973-829-8159.