A 63-year-old Kearny man is behind bars after Bergen County investigators say he sexually touched a child in North Arlington, in a case that began with a tip from the state's child welfare agency and ended in his arrest this week. Victor A. Fujimoto Diaz was taken into custody Wednesday and now faces charges tied to alleged sexual activity with a juvenile that authorities say occurred in August 2026.
According to Daily Voice, the case originated on August 31, 2026, when the New Jersey Division of Child Protection & Permanency contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit about alleged past sexual contact with a juvenile in North Arlington. That referral is not optional under state law: New Jersey Revised Statutes Section 9:6-8.10 requires anyone with reasonable cause to believe a child has been sexually abused to immediately report it to state child protection authorities, according to Justia Law.
Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Fujimoto Diaz was arrested following a joint investigation by his office and North Arlington police. Fujimoto Diaz was charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, and he was taken to Bergen County Jail following his arrest on Wednesday, per the outlet's report.
How the Case Moves Through Bergen County Courts
Fujimoto Diaz is now awaiting a first appearance in Superior Court, which sits in Hackensack. Because New Jersey largely abolished money bail under the Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2017, he must undergo a Public Safety Assessment risk evaluation at the jail before that hearing, a process Hoodline has detailed in other Bergen County cases. That evaluation weighs danger to the community and flight risk rather than setting a dollar amount for release.
The charges themselves carry significant exposure. Third-degree endangering the welfare of a child under N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4 carries a statutory penalty of three to five years in state prison, according to Aiello Harris, while fourth-degree criminal sexual contact carries up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, per the Law Office of Christopher St. John. Combined, a conviction on both counts could mean up to 6.5 years in state prison along with monetary fines.
Megan's Law Registration Would Follow a Conviction
Megan's Law Registration Could Follow a Conviction Beyond prison time, a conviction could lead to sex offender registration under Megan's Law, according to the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall. That could require Fujimoto Diaz to register with local police and could result in public listing, depending on the applicable requirements and circumstances. It bears repeating that the charges against him are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office has a Special Victims Unit and Megan's Law Unit. In this case, the prosecutor's office worked alongside North Arlington's police department. It is a pattern that has surfaced elsewhere in South Bergen County: Hoodline reported in May that the same Special Victims Unit investigated a similar case in neighboring Lyndhurst after a tip from an outside agency led to charges against a 40-year-old caretaker. The county unit has also been involved in other Bergen County cases.
A Small Borough With a Low Violent-Crime Rate
North Arlington is a small borough of roughly 2.5 square miles in southwestern Bergen County, with a population of 16,457 as of the 2020 census, situated just across the Passaic River from Hudson and Essex counties. Data compiled by Police Scorecard shows the North Arlington Police Department logged 2,636 total arrests between 2013 and 2025, with violent crimes accounting for just 3% of that total. Those figures do not show how frequently child-sex cases occur or how the department's arrests break down by offense level.
Open questions remain in the case, including the specific age of the alleged juvenile victim and their relationship to Fujimoto Diaz, whether prosecutors will seek to detain him without bail ahead of trial, and when his first appearance in Hackensack will take place. Bergen County authorities have not released additional details on those points as the investigation continues.
