Man sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually assaulting child, filming it – NJ.com

A Newark man who sexually assaulted an eight-year-old child and filmed the assault was sentenced to 25 years in New Jersey State Prison on Tuesday.

An Essex County Superior Court judge sentenced Diego Ayala, 35, to 25 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault of a child younger than 13, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. As part of a plea deal, Ayala will serve the 25 years before he is eligible for parole, according to the statement.

Ayala also pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, according to the statement.

During his guilty plea, Ayala admitted to sexually assaulting an eight-year-old and filming the assault on his cell phone, according to the statement.

The assistant prosecutor who led the case praised the victim, who came forward about the assault, the statement said.

“We want to thank the courageous young victim for coming forward and we hope this sentence will provide some sense of healing and closure,” Assistant Prosecutor Nicole Buermann said in the statement.

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Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rodrigotorrejon.