A Paterson man has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a Passaic City girl repeatedly under the threat of telling her parents.
Hernan Oliveras-Sierra, 22, of Paterson, has been charged with 19 criminal offenses, including sexual assault, luring, kidnapping, criminal sexual contact, and sexual contact with a child.
Oliveras-Sierra, at the time 20-year-old, met the 13-year-old victim outside a Dunkin’ Donuts. He allegedly told her he was 14-year-old. But Oliveras-Sierra’s public defender James Sheehan said the alleged victim told his client she was 18. She provides him her phone number, and both stay in touch for 2-4 months. He asks her to be his girlfriend and she agrees. At that point, Oliveras-Sierra tells her he is not 14, but that he is 20, according to authorities.
Passaic County assistant prosecutor Michael King said at that point the victim is “trapped” in a “pseudo relationship” with Oliveras-Sierra. She continues to see him. She visits him at his apartment in Passaic City.
Oliveras-Sierra allegedly violently sexually assaulted her in the apartment. She was screaming and crying throughout as he allegedly ripped off her clothes and sexually abused her. That was the first sexual assault, according to authorities. There were three more “equally” violent rapes. There were 20 more times when Oliveras-Sierra allegedly forced her to have sex with him under the threat that he would tell her parents about their relationship, said King.
“The defendant is threatening her: if you don’t have sex with me, I’m going to tell your parents,” said King in court. He uses the same threats to allegedly force her to come over to his apartment and extort money from her.
Both the victim and Oliveras-Sierra were living in Passaic City at the time. He later moves to Paterson. King said the victim is now 14 and Oliveras-Sierra has trained her to give him Uber cards, Amazon gift cards, and cash. She allegedly stole $5,000 from her parents, including food stamp money, to give to him.
Oliveras-Sierra allegedly would send Uber to pick her up from Passaic City to bring her to Paterson. He would message her asking her if she “wanted to hang out” and “wanted to come over.” He allegedly raped her 10 times in Paterson, said King.
Oliveras-Sierra also had her skip school to meet him.
“It’s essentially a 20-year-old man violently sexually abusing a child, repeatedly and on multiple occasions,” said King during the court hearing on Friday. He also had her send him sexual image of herself through text that are deemed child pornography.
Oliveras-Sierra used extortion and coercion to gain “mental control” over her and “manipulated” her, according to authorities. She is now 15 years old.
“Key aspects of the state’s allegations are in dispute,” said Sheehan. “There’s no physical evidence of sexual assault.”
Sheehan said his client denied he ever raped the victim. He said his client was involved in an “illicit relationship.”
Oliveras-Sierra came to mainland U.S. with his mother when he was 12 from Puerto Rico. He graduated from Passaic City High School in 2018. In his senior year his stepfather walked out on his mother. He got a job working at a plastic factory overnight while attending school to support the family, said Sheehan in arguing to get his client released from the Passaic County Jail.
Oliveras-Sierra was arrested and put into the county jail on February 9. Sheehan argued Oliveras-Sierra’s safety is at risk at the Passaic County Jail. Oliveras-Sierra has a small frame and looks much younger than 22. He was “swimming” in “oversized” jail garb, said the public defender.
King argued Oliveras-Sierra represents a danger to the victim and the community. He pointed out Oliveras-Sierra has been charged with robbery for attacking his own mother because he wanted $10.
Oliveras-Sierra allegedly tried to smother her with a pillow for the money.
“Just be quiet,” Oliveras-Sierra allegedly told his mother as she struggled. He had used the same phrase when the now 15-year-old victim was screaming and crying as he sexually abused her, noted the prosecutor.
Oliveras-Sierra also threatened to kill the girl via text, according to authorities.
King said Oliveras-Sierra faces decades in prison if convicted on the charges.
Passaic County judge Scott Rumana ordered Oliveras-Sierra detained in jail until the charges are resolved.