Middletown Man Arrested At JFK Airport On Sexual Assault Charges

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A Middletown man wanted on sexual assault charges is behind bars. Officers arrested Andres M. Cardenas Ortega, 32, at John F. Kennedy International Airport early Thursday morning, the Hackettstown Police Department confirmed.

On Jan. 30, 2021, Hackettstown detectives said they began an investigation into a reported sexual assault that occurred at a home in Hackettstown.

Through the investigation, detectives said they determined that between Sept. 2018 through July 2019, a woman who resided with him found several videos on a digital device and a Google account that showed her being sexually assaulted by Ortega.

According to the police department, the woman had not consented to the sexual acts and did not know they even occurred until she saw the video. Police said the woman also did not give Ortega permission to record her.

Ortega was scheduled to come to Hackettstown police headquarters to be charged on June 16 but he never showed up, and subsequent phone calls to him went unanswered, police said. He was then entered into National Crime Information Center (NCIC) as a wanted person.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police located and arrested Ortega on Thursday, June 17 at JFK airport.

Ortega has been charged with four counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, two counts of third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact, and one count of third-degree invasion of privacy.

Police said Oretga is being held in New York City and is awaiting extradition to Warren County.