NJ Child Psychologist Lorenzo Puertas Charged with Repeated Sexual Assault of Child

April 24, 2019

A psychologist whose business works with children was charged Wednesday with multiple sexual assaults of a child under 13 years old.

Lorenzo Puertas, 78, faces two counts of sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo announced Thursday.

Puertas, of Franklin Lakes, served as executive director of Psych-Ed Services, which has offices in Franklin Lakes and in Lakewood. The health provider officers bilingual psychological services including pre-employment psych screenings and child study team evaluations.

In March, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office received a tip about the suspected abuse from the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, the state’s child welfare agency.

Passaic County detectives investigated the tip before learning the alleged assaults all happened in Franklin Lakes, Calo said. The victim was not a patient.

Puertas is scheduled for a first court appearance in Hackensack Thursday afternoon.

Source: “Bergen County psychologist charged with repeated sexual assaults of a child,” NJ.com, April 18, 2019, URL: https://www.nj.com/bergen/2019/04/bergen-county-psychologist-charged-with-repeated-sex-assaults-of-a-child.html