The arrest of a man in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood for alleged possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material was not related to immigration enforcement actions, Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey said.
Oliver Diaz Pulex was arrested at his home on Witherspoon Street on Feb. 21 after he allegedly distributed an item showing or portraying a child in a sexually explicit manner, Marbrey said.
The Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood is home to a large Latino community, many of whom are undocumented, but law enforcement agencies were conducting a criminal investigation on Feb. 21.
Marbrey emphasized that the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the other law enforcement agencies were not participating in an immigration operation for U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). The concern was raised because ICE did carry out a raid in July 2024.
“We do not wish to cause undue fear or panic as we carry out our criminal investigations,” Marbrey continued. “We do not wish to see anyone victimized because they are fearful of reporting crime that they were subjected to or witnessed.”
Police officers will not stop, question, arrest, search or detain an individual based solely on a person’s actual or suspected immigration status, she said.
Police officers will not participate in ICE’s civil immigration enforcement operations, under the New Jersey Immigrant Trust Directive issued in 2018, Marbrey said.
Victims and witnesses to a crime should step forward and report it, she said. They will not be asked about their immigration status unless it is necessary to the investigation of a serious offense and is relevant to that offense.
