FLEMINGTON, NJ (Hunterdon County) – A former camp counselor at YMCA Camp Bernie that was charged in August 2022 pleaded guilty this week to sexual assault, according to Hunterdon County First Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Paravecchia.
Joshua F. Daranijo, 24, of Levittown, PA, pleaded guilty on Jan. 25 before Hunterdon County Superior Court Judge Angela F. Borkowski to three counts of second-degree sexual assault by contact and one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child for knowingly possessing items depicting the sexual exploitation of a child, Paravecchia said.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, the State will recommend that Daranijo be sentenced to concurrent 7-year terms in New Jersey State Prison which, under the No Early Release Act, will require him to serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole. Upon his release, he will be required to register as a sex offender and be subject to Parole Supervision for Life, Paravecchia said.
Daranijo openly admitted in court to sexual contact with children under the age of 13, and to possessing child sexual abuse material, while a camp counselor at YMCA Camp Bernie in Lebanon Township, Paravecchia said.
Daranijo is scheduled to be sentenced on April 5.
The investigation was conducted by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victims Unit.
