South Florida

Man Charged With Sexual Assault Blames Child: Cops

Authorities say they've arrested a South Florida man who admitted to sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl but claimed it was the child's fault.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office reports that 23-year-old Andres Bartolome Juan was arrested Saturday and charged with two counts of sexual assault.

The girl told detectives that she had been riding her bike outside her Lake Worth apartment Jan. 31 when she went into the laundry room. That's where the girl says Juan assaulted her twice, according to reports. The attack was interrupted when the girl's mother found her bike unattended and began calling out for her.

The girl ran out the laundry room “with a panicked look on her face,” the report said. The girl’s mother went inside the laundry room and found Juan trying to exit through a back window. His belt was unbuckled, his pants open and his zipper down, the mother told detectives.

The Palm Beach Post reports that a neighbor later identified Juan to detectives. A resident in the apartment where Juan once lived told detectives that Juan came to him and said, “I touched the little girl.”

While a DNA swab sample was being obtained from Juan, he told a detective: “It’s [the girl’s] fault this happened,” according to the report.

Juan was being held without bail. Jail records didn't list an attorney.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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