A North Bergen man accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old runaway from Washington, D.C., had been deported three times, a prosecutor said at a detention hearing Wednesday.

Carlos Gonzalez, 46, met the girl in New York and sexually assaulted her during the drive to a North Bergen hotel on June 12, a prosecutor said at the hearing in front of Hudson County Superior Court Judge Edward DeFazio.

In arguing that Gonzalez be detained at Hudson County jail through his prosecution, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Angela Gingerelli pointed out the number of times he has returned to the United States and also noted that Gonzalez has a multi-state criminal record.

Finally, the prosecutor said that when the North Bergen resident was arrested at his Grand Street home on June 13, he was found to have a New York driver’s license. For those reasons, and because Gonzalez would face a long prison term if convicted, the state moved to detain him through the course of his prosecution.

Gonzalez listened through a Spanish translator as DeFazio ordered him detained, saying there is a high risk the defendant would fail to appear for court proceedings in his prosecution.

“Mr. Gonzalez has been removed from the U.S. by (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) on three occasions and he has returned, as we know, after being removed,” DeFazio said. “I believe that that can’t be ignored.”

The investigation began when North Bergen police responded to the Fountain Motel on Paterson Plank Road at 11:45 p.m. on June 12 after getting a report of a sexual assault on a 15-year-old girl, officials said.

The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit took over the investigation and arrested Gonzalez without incident the next day. Gingerelli said Gonzalez gave a statement in which he admitted touching the 15-year-old.

Gonzalez was wearing the green garb of the Hudson County jail and he was handcuffed during the hearing. He stood at the defense table beside his attorney, Gerald Miller, and said nothing, but he shook his head several times as though disagreeing with what the prosecutor was saying.

Miller chose not to comment after the hearing.

The defendant’s next court hearing is set for July 18 before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City.