Bergen County therapist accused of sexual assault is released on home detention

A Midland Park therapist accused of inappropriately touching a 9-year-old boy during a therapy session has been released on electronic monitoring.

Jonathan Barrios, 27, of Saddle Brook, appeared before state Superior Court Judge Marc Ramundo for his detention hearing last week.

The therapist is charged with sexual assault by contact and endangering the welfare of a child. The victim accused Barrios of putting his hand down his pants and touching him.

Despite the argument from the prosecutor that Barrios should remain in jail, as he poses a danger to the community and the victim, Ramundo ruled that Barrios could be released under specific conditions.

Barrios will be required to remain at his home and appear for all his scheduled court proceedings, any changes to his contact information must be immediately reported, he cannot commit any new offenses, and he must avoid contact with the victim, the judge ruled.

Ramundo said the court was hopeful that Barrios could remain employed, but he would have to do therapy sessions remotely and could not work with anyone under 18.

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During the detention hearing, Assistant Prosecutor Nicole Paton told the court that the victim was speaking with his new therapist and told her that he was uncomfortable with Barrios, and that Barrios had reached into his pants and touched him. The therapist notified child protective services, which told the victim's parents to contact the Midland Park police.

The victim "reported that while alone with Barrios, he was sitting sideways in a computer chair with Barrios' laptop on his lap," Paton said. "Barrios asked if he could touch [the victim] and [the victim] said yes but was unsure where he was going to touch."

She said that at the child advocacy center, the victim reported, Barrios would pull up a chair next to where he was seated and would touch him on the body.

Paton said Barrios had put his hand down the 9-year-old's pants to touch his hip before the alleged sexual contact. She told the court that Barrios took advantage of his position of authority over the victim and made the victim "comfortable with touches on his body before he touched the child's intimate parts."

Jason Foy, Barrios' attorney, argued that there has never been an accusation against Barrios in the over 100 clients he has worked with in different organizations. Foy pointed to the numerous letters submitted to the court on Barrios' behalf, providing support for him and talking about his character. He said Barrios hasn't had contact with the victim since November 2022 and there had never been an attempt to contact him since the complaint was made in May.

Foy said there was an interview with the owner of the facility where Barrios worked in which she noted that Barrios had been working there since July 2020 and told police "she didn't see this coming."

Barrios' attorney said the victim's new therapist began asking leading questions and his client's name wasn't mentioned, and that she is the one who introduced the idea of touching, not the victim. Paton disagreed and said the identification of Barrios also happened when the victim was being asked questions by the Prosecutor's Office, which is trained to deal with victims of sexual abuse.

Foy said Barrios is an innocent man and that the case the prosecution has against his client is not strong.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Midland Park NJ therapist released on home detention