A Paterson man has been arrested on charges of inappropriate sexual contact with a student at a public school in Passaic City on Friday, according to the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office.

Luis A. Martinez-Palencia, 62-year-old, city resident, a teacher’s aide in Passaic, was arrested on Friday for “engaging in sexual contact with a student at School #17 in Passaic,” according to the office.

The prepubescent boy was in Martinez-Palencia pre-school class at School 17, where the elderly man made sexual contact multiple times. “The incidents occurred more than once within the classroom,” according to the office.

The victim was between the age of three and five when he was molested by Martinez-Palencia. “The victim was 3 to 5 years old at the time of the alleged offenses,” reads a statement from the office. “The complaint alleges one count of official misconduct, one count of sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.”

If convicted Martinez-Palencia faces more than 30 years in prison. “Each count is a second-degree crime carrying a maximum sentence of up to ten years in prison,” according to the office.