Kidnapped girl says she escaped neighbor's van but was pulled back inside, molested
Editor's note: This story contains descriptions of child sexual abuse that readers may find disturbing.
WEST PALM BEACH — A man is accused of kidnapping his 11-year-old neighbor and sexually assaulting her in a van parked outside her home in Lake Worth Beach. Deputies say the man stopped the assault only after the child's mother appeared beside the van and hit it with her hand, demanding to know what was going on inside.
Investigators say Marvin Perez Lopez, 20, fled from the vehicle. The child exited after him, her legs bloodied and bare. Her mother brought the girl inside and bagged her clothes before walking back out to confront Lopez. Neither the child nor her mother are identified in public records.
According to the arrest report, Lopez told the mother he was sorry for what he'd done and asked her to forgive him. She declined and called the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office instead.
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Deputies say girl escaped from van, was pulled back inside
The child, a sixth-grader who told the responding deputies that she enjoys math and art classes, said she was playing outside between 8 and 9 p.m. on Thursday when Lopez grabbed her hand and told her to get inside of a "big, dirty van." She did.
“It scared her,” a deputy wrote later. “He touched her and she didn’t like it.”
She said she'd known Lopez since he moved from Guatemala into their apartment complex last year. Once inside the van, the girl said Lopez kissed her and tried to take her clothes off. She said she pushed him away and got out of the van, only to be grabbed again and pulled back inside.
The girl said Lopez continued to kiss and sexually assault her her despite her demands to stop. She pointed to a drawing of a gingerbread man to describe to deputies exactly what he did to her and where.
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Accused assailant fled from police, later captured
Deputies knocked on Lopez's apartment door shortly before midnight on Friday. According to his arrest report, Lopez snuck out of a window at the back of the home and led authorities on a chase. When they could not find him, deputies returned to the home and interviewed Lopez's brother and sister-in-law.
The couple said Lopez "did something with the girl next door." They said he'd promised to become the child's boyfriend if her mother allowed it. If she was pregnant, he said he'd care for the child, too.
Deputies charged Lopez with kidnapping and sexual battery of a person younger than 12. His arrest report mentions a sexual-assault evidence collection kit and medical evaluation but does not specify what results those tests yielded — only that they, along with the girl's sworn statements, established probable cause for his arrest.
If convicted, Lopez could be sentenced to death or life in prison. Circuit Judge Lisa Small ordered that he remain in jail in lieu of bail and assigned him a public defender. As a practice, the county Office of the Public Defender does not comment on open cases.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the Palm Beach County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center can help. Reach their helpline at 561-833-7273, or toll-free at 866-891-7273.
Hannah Phillips covers criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida man accused of sexually assaulting 11-year-old neighbor in van
