Gas Station Attendant Sexually Abused 5-Year-Old Mahwah Boy, Authorities Say

A gas station attendant from Newark was arrested Friday after police say he allegedly sexually abused a five-year-old Mahwah boy, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli announced in a release Friday.

According to Molinelli, the child's mother reported to the Mahwah Police Department Wednesday that Richard Diggs, 50, had "engaged in inappropriate sexual activities" with her son on several occasions. Diggs is a family acquaintance, Molinelli said.

The child was forensically interviewed by a detective from the Prosecutor's Office's Special Victims Unit, when he confirmed what he had previously told his mother, Molinelli said.

Diggs was charged with sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, authorities said. He was remanded to the Bergen County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.