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Cliffside Park man, 22, had sex with Seattle runaway, 15, police charge

CLIFFVIEW PILOT EXCLUSIVE: A 15-year-old runaway from Seattle was in DYFS custody and a 22-year-old Cliffside Park man behind bars after borough police said he had sex with the girl and then lied about her whereabouts.

Photo Credit: Courtesy Cliffside Park PD

Cliffside Park police went to David Ruiz’s Palisade Avenue apartment after the teen’s worried mother called them, saying her daughter was there again after previous cross-country visits, Detective Capt. Michael Russo told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

The first time, they couldn’t find her, Russo said.

The second time, he said, Ruiz sent officers “on a wild goose chase,” telling them he had a new girlfriend.

This time, however, the teen called police, and they rushed back to Ruiz’s apartment.

After hearing her side of the story, they arrested him.

  • Nothing in the law can be more definitive than what constitutes statutory rape: It is a crime that occurs in New Jersey when one of the partners is between 13 and 16 and the other is at least four years older. And it can put a convicted offender in prison for a long time, among other serious consequences. READ MORE….

Ruiz was being held on $150,000 bail, charged with sexual assault, child endangerment and lying to police.

Earlier this year, Paramus police arrested Ruiz after they said he fought with a man in the parking lot of the Garden State Plaza, rammed the other man’s car, then took off and later reported the car stolen after abandoning it near Route 17.

MUGSHOT: Courtesy Cliffside Park PD

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