Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office October News

October 11, 2023News ReleaseSOMERVILLE, N.J. - Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Detectives Francisco Roman Jr., and Watchung Borough Chief of Police Scott Anderle announced that defendant Miguel A. Melchor-Gomez has been arrested and charged with five counts of second degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child (N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1a and 2C:24-4b(4)); four counts of third degree invasion of privacy (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-9b(1)); one count of fourth degree invasion of privacy (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-9b(2)); one count of fourth degree tampering with evidence (N.J.S.A. 2C:28-6(1)), and one count of fourth degree obstructing administration of law (N.J.S.A. 2C:29-1a). Following his arrest, the State filed a motion for pretrial detention, which was granted by the Hon. Julie M. Marino, J.S.C., and the defendant is currently detained.Defendant’s charges stem from multiple instances in which he used his cellular telephone to take, or attempt to take, surreptitious videos underneath the shorts or skirts of unsuspecting female victims.

Defendant’s crimes occurred hundreds of times over a twenty-one-month period between December 2021 and August 19, 2023, at the Circle Convenience Store, located at the Sunoco gas station, 53 Stirling Road, Watchung, New Jersey, where defendant worked as a cashier. The investigation revealed that defendant used his cell phone to film underneath his victims’ clothing in one of two ways, both of which occurred inside the convenience store: defendant either pretended that the credit card machine malfunctioned and directed his victims to the counter where he would stand close to his victim to complete the purchase, or defendant would position himself very close to the victim at some other location within the store. The vast majority of defendant’s victims are adults, but several of his victims are under 18. Following defendant’s arrest, police seized defendant’s cellular telephone and conducted a forensic examination of the phone. At this time, there is no evidence that defendant shared or disseminated these videos.This is an ongoing investigation, and police are in the process of identifying the victims depicted in the videos contained on defendant’s cell phone. 

Police ask individuals who believe that they may be victims to attempt to identify the date on which they were inside the convenience store (through credit card records, etc.), and the clothing that they wore that day (through photos on their cell phones, home surveillance cameras, etc.). After victims have attempted to identify the date on which they were inside the convenience store, they may contact the Watchung Police Department at WPD.TIPS@watchungpd.com or (908) 756-2504.The matter is being investigated by Det. Brian McLaughlin and Sgt. Peter LaVecchia of the Watchung Police Department and is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant Prosecutor Kimberly Savino French of the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office