Montclair Man Arrested For Sexual Assault In Year-Old Case

A Montclair man has been arrested on sexual assault charges for offenses police say occurred a year ago when he allegedly climbed through the window of a house on Claremont Avenue and touched a 35-year-old woman in bed.

Henok Yohannes, 29, was charged with several counts of aggravated sexual assault, criminal trespassing, burglary, and peering in a victim's bedroom window, said Montclair Detective Sgt. Ronald Redmond.

Law enforcement officials were able to make the arrest after picking up Yohannes in a separate incident on Sept. 14. A resident on Greenwood Avenue had called police after coming across a stranger hiding in the bushes outside his house just after 2 a.m.

The man tried to run off but the resident managed to hold onto him until the police arrived.

After arresting and charging Yohannes for criminal trespassing, investigators realized he matched the description and composite drawing made by a New Jersey State Police artist of a suspect sought in a August 2011 sexual assault case.

Further investigation linked Yohannes with the Claremont Avenue touching incident, police said.

Yohannes was being held Wednesday on bail set at $500,000 cash or bond by a state Superior Court judge.