NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A Queens man has been arrested and charged with molesting three girls at the Fort Hamilton Army Base in Brooklyn.

Fausto Bonifaz, 39, was charged with coercing and enticing three girls between the ages of 12 and 13 into sexual activity, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

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Bonifaz was a civilian who had been admitted to the base because he worked with the mother of one of the victims and had access to her house, prosecutors said.

His alleged actions were not uncovered until one of the girls reported the abuse to a counselor years later, prosecutors said.

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Before his arrest, Bonifaz admitted to FBI agents that he had molested one of the victims and signed a written statement detailing the alleged abuse, prosecutors said.

“Protecting children from sexual predators is one of our highest priorities. We will not allow people such as the defendant to prey on the families of our military, and we will investigate all allegations of abuse,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a news release.

Bonifaz was to be arraigned Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy in Brooklyn.

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