GARFIELD — A city man was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl whose mother had hired him to drive her daughter to school, authorities said.

Police officers observed Froilan Mendez, 71, park his van on Monroe Street around 8:15 a.m. Tuesday and enter the rear of the vehicle. When officers approached the van, they discovered Mendez in the back of the van with the girl and arrested him at the scene, said Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli.

The girl subsequently told police that Mendez had touched her “in a sexual manner” several times in the past, Molinelli said.

Witnesses had previously told police that Mendez had parked his van at the same location at least once before. They said he entered the rear of the vehicle, stayed inside for about for about 10 minutes before driving off again, Molinelli said. The witnesses also reported seeing the girl seated in the back of the van each time.

The girl’s mother had hired Mendez to take the girl to school Garfield’s Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in the morning, Molinelli said. Mendez was not employed by the Garfield School District, the prosecutor said.

Mendez was charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. He was being held at the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack on Tuesday with bail set at $250,000.

Molinelli is asking parents who have employed Mendez to drive their children to school in the morning to report any prior suspicious encounters.