An Atlantic City man accused of stalking a young boy for more than a year is being held pending a competency assessment.
Victor DeFrancesco, 68, is charged with sexual conduct, stalking and harassment after he allegedly left multiple notes, candy and popcorn for the 9-year-old boy.
"As far as I'm concerned, that child is my god," the man said during what was supposed to be his detention hearing Friday.
The boy's mother, who is not being identified to protect the victim's identity, turned over a bag full of letters the man left for her son, along with a book called "Ship Wreck," according to the affidavit of probable cause obtained by BreakingAC.
The woman told police she does not know DeFrancesco at all and only got his name and address through the "creepy letters" left in her mailbox for her son.
She did confront DeFrancesco after encountering him one day, and told him to stay away from her child, the affidavit states.
When officers stopped DeFrancesco, he admitted to leaving notes at the residence for the young boy. He also showed them multiple photographs of the boy on his cell phone, according to the affidavit.
It did not give details about the photos or how they may have been obtained.
DeFrancesco told the judge Friday that another man has the same photos.
Officers also saw a picture of the boy hung up in DeFrancesco's home.
DeFrancesco confirmed it was a picture of the boy, and asked that the officer's not tell the child's mother.
At what was supposed to be his detention hearing Friday, DeFrancesco made several outbursts, including declaring his deep obsession with the child.
"He cured my Parkinson's, made me feel like I'm 28," he told Judge Nancy Ridgway.
"I need to get out of here," he said. "If they took my pictures and took my things, I'm telling you, I'm gonna ... I already got one guy gonna call the governor. They're screwing with the wrong person."
The judge tried multiple times to get DeFrancesco to let his attorney speak. He then took issue when his attorney questioned his competency.
"I have some concerns and I expressed that to him with respect to what's going on and whether, in fact, there's any mental health history," public defender John Bjorklund said.
"This is not a mental health thing," DeFrancesco interrupted. "This is an attack on my everything, my sanity ... on my freedom of my religious beliefs. As far as I'm concerned, that child is my god."
When DeFrancesco failed to stop speaking out, his attorney requested his mic be muted from the jail booth where he was appearing from for the virtual hearing.
She then asked Bjorklund if he wanted to continue with the detention hearing.
"I don't know how to really move forward not knowing whether, in fact, he's competent to proceed or not," the attorney replied. "He seems to drift in and out of reality. I don't even know how to characterize it."
Bjorklund said he would draft an order for a hearing, with the judge saying she would sign it.
The judge also noted that there was a final restraining order granted concerning an unnamed victim in 2021, but was never served to DeFrancesco.
Ridgway said Cape May County — where the restraining order was granted — was notified, and DeFrancesco would be served in the Atlantic County Justice Facility, where he remains.
