Convicted Asbury Park child molester sentenced to 20 years

FREEHOLD - An accused child sex abuser from Asbury Park took his chances at trial, and lost. The payoff, for Didier Villagra, begins with 17 to 20 years in prison.

The 37-year-old, convicted after a four-week trial in June for the 2014 sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in the house they inhabited, was sentenced to 20 years, with potential parole eligibility after serving 85 percent of the time, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni's office.

He was found guilty of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, and second-degree sexual assault and child endangerment.

The two assault counts, merged for sentencing purposes, would have required Villagra to spend five years after release under parole supervision. However, adding a concurrent 10-year endangerment sentence, Villagra was ordered to register as a sex offender under terms of Megan's Law, and report to a parole officer for the rest of his life.

The youngster told her mother about being molested in her bedroom in April 2014, the day after it occurred, authorities said.

Investigators brought in members of the Monmouth County Child Advocacy Center in handling the case. Villagra was arrested April 6, 2014, following a probe by the Prosecutor's Special Victims Bureau and Asbury Park police.

Assistant Prosecutors Ellyn Rajfer and Stephanie Dugan conducted the government's case. Villagra was represented by attorney Carlos Diaz Cobo of New Brunswick.

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