Fair Lawn man arrested after police find him with Paterson prostitute

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FAIR LAWN — Police arrested a borough man early Sunday morning after finding him with a Paterson prostitute in Memorial Park.

Lt. Derek Bastinck of the Fair Lawn police said that an officer observed a vehicle in the park by the town pool around 1:30 a.m. He approached the car, and found 21-year-old Christian Velez and a woman inside.

Velez initially told police that the woman was his girlfriend, and that they had come to the park to talk. He provided officers with her first name, but was unable to provide a last name for the woman.

When police interviewed the woman, she provided a different first name, Bastinck said.

"The officer realized this wasn't a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship," he said.

The woman, 20-year-old Vanessa M. Childs, later admitted that she was a prostitute, and that Velez had taken her to the park for sex after picking her up from Paterson.

Velez was charged with soliciting a prostitute, and was released on his own recognizance.

Childs was charged with promoting prostitution and providing false information. Police also discovered two active warrants for her arrest - one for $750 out of Hackensack and another for $2,500 out of Secaucus.

She was remanded to the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack, where she was held on $2,500 bail with no 10 percent option.