http://www.app.com/article/20100708/NEWS/7080360/Lakewood-man-pleads-guilty-to-sexually-abusing-8-girls

A Lakewood man is facing up to 60 years in prison after admitting that he sexually abused eight children, between the ages of 4 and 9, said Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford.

Cirilo Cholula Maranchel, 19, of Woehr Avenue pleaded guilty to six counts of aggravated sexual assault on six children, and two counts of sexual assault on two more children, Ford said.

The abuse took place between January and June of 2009, when the defendant was 17 and 18. Although Maranchel was a minor when he committed the offenses, he was prosecuted as an adult, Ford said in a prepared statement.

Maranchel entered his guilty plea Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels.

The defendant admitted acts of sexual penetration — digital as well as sexual intercourse — with six of the victims, who were between the ages of 6 and 9, said Senior Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Laura Pierro. He admitted molesting another child in front of yet another child who was 4, Pierro said.

All of the victims are girls who are known to the defendant, Ford said.

The abuse was revealed after one victim, age 6, came forward to her parents, who contacted Lakewood police on June 13, 2009, Ford said.

That girl told investigators she had witnessed other children being sexually assaulted by Maranchel, leading them to seven other victims, Pierro said.

Ford said the special victims unit of her office worked with Lakewood Detective Leroy Marshall and other Lakewood officers to identify the other victims and arrest Maranchel.

"The young victims of these crimes have been courageous in cooperating in this investigation," Ford said.

Ford said the arrest of Maranchel, an illegal immigrant, followed an intensive investigation and hunt for him.

"At the time of his arrest, it appeared the defendant was attempting to board public transportation and escape criminal responsibility for his actions," she said.

Maranchel faces a minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of 60 years when he is sentenced following an evaluation at the state Corrections Department's Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel, Ford said. He will be held at the Ocean County Jail until then, with his bail set at $2 million.

Maranchel will be deported to his native Mexico after he serves his prison term, the prosecutor said.