Religious Instructor Accused of Molesting 14-Year-Old Student in Paterson — Faces Up to 15 Years
What happened
Where it happened
- Paterson, Passaic County.
What remains unclear
- Haitham Altartir, 62, of Elmwood Park, was taken into custody Thursday following a tip from Paterson Police, which triggered an investigation by the Prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit.
A Bergen County religious instructor has been arrested for allegedly sexually touching a 14-year-old student, according to the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office.
Haitham Altartir, 62, of Elmwood Park, was taken into custody Thursday following a tip from Paterson Police, which triggered an investigation by the Prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit.
Authorities say the incident occurred on May 14 in Paterson, where Altartir was serving as a religious teacher to the victim. He is accused of "unlawfully touching an intimate part of a 14-year-old child."
Altartir is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated criminal sexual contact. He was released the same day on pre-trial monitoring.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for the endangerment charge and 5 years for the sexual contact charge.
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