UNION CITY MAN ACCUSED OF TARGETING TWO GIRLS, AGES 12 AND 13, IN SEX CRIME CASE

A Union City man has been arrested for groping a 12-year-old girl at a public pool and sending explicit messages to her and another child, prosecutors said.

Malik Pardo, 26, is charged with sexual assault by contact and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.

Authorities say the charges stem from a June 2024 incident in which Pardo allegedly groped the 12-year-old at a Union City public pool. Investigators later determined he had also sent sexually explicit messages to her and to a second victim, a 13-year-old girl.

Members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit arrested Pardo on Wednesday near New York Avenue and Ninth Street in Union City. He is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny pending his first court appearance.

Anyone with information or wishing to report a sex crime can contact the Special Victims Unit at 201-915-1234.