Jersey City man, 82, pleads guilty to molesting 4-year-old granddaughter

Thursday, March 10, 2011
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

An 82-year-old Jersey City man pleaded guilty Tuesday to molesting his granddaughter last year when she was 4 years old and his disabled wife burst into tears as he described his vile acts in open court yesterday, officials said.

"This is a heinous crime, especially considering that this defendant was in a position of trust within the victim's life," Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Dill said yesterday of Abdul Mirza, 82, who was originally charged with aggravated sexual assault on the girl.

The June 15 sex crime came to light when the girl told her mother that Mirza had touched her private parts and the mother then found blood in the child's underwear, Dill said. Mirza then confessed to officers of the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Special Victim's Unit, Dill said.

In court Tuesday, Mirza pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of sexual assault by contact, a crime that is punishable by five to 10 years in prison. Due to his age and frailty, the state agreed to a sentence of three years in prison with no possibility of parole until after serving nearly 21/2 years, Dill said.

"This office balanced the need to protect society from those who prey on children, as well as send a strong message to other would-be sex predators, against the defendant's advanced age," Dill said. "We took into account that a lengthy prison sentence would most likely be a death sentence."

Because Mirza was his wife's primary caretaker, her son must now move in with her because she can't be alone due to her illnesses.

Mirza will now undergo a psychological assessment to determine if he is a compulsive and repetitive offender and if it is found that he is, he can be held even after his prison sentence is served, officials said.

He will also be under supervision for the rest of his life and will have to register under Megan's Law.

Mirza will be sentenced May 13 by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Sheila Venable in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City.