Rabbi from Argentina faces child porn charge in NJ

Rabbi Gabriel Toledo

 

PASSAIC — Sheriff’s detectives arrested a rabbi at a Moonachie kosher food distribution company and are looking to arrest his roommate and coworker on child pornography charges, authorities said Friday.

Rabbi Gabriel Toledo, 50, of Passaic, was arrested Thursday at the Moonachie business on possession of child pornography in excess of 1,000 images, Sheriff Richard Berdnik said in a statement.

Toledo was arrested after a search warrant was executed at his Passaic home, stemming from a four-month investigation by the sheriff’s Internet Crime Task Force.

Toledo is a rabbi from a clergy in Argentina, where he is from, and does not head a local congregation. He is in the United States on a visa, the sheriff’s office said.

His roommate, Joseph Vasquez, 22, fled from detectives, the sheriff’s office said. He is wanted as a fugitive on possession of child pornography in excess of 1,000 images and distribution of child pornography.

Vasquez, who is from Honduras, is in the United States illegally and also is wanted by immigration officials on a federal deportation warrant, according to the sheriff’s office.