An illegal Guatemalan immigrant has been charged with sexually abusing a 5-year-old girl twice in the garage and bathroom of his parents' Florida home, according to reports.
Nicolas Jose Francisco, 25, was charged Friday with two counts of sexual assault of a child under 12 and ordered held without bail at Fox affiliate Palm Beach County. WFLX-TV News reported.
Francisco, who had been working with the victim's young family for about a year, told police that touching the girl was “a mistake on both occasions” and that he was the reason the girl's family accused him of the horrific crime. “is an illegal immigrant,” the outlet said.
Zibby Chilic, senior director of the Child Counseling Center, told WFLX that this excuse is not surprising.
“Unfortunately in many cases we are dealing with it,” Cilic said. “They often try to normalize and diminish the impact of what they have done.”
According to WPEC-TV NewsThe girl was first questioned about the abuse on Dec. 13 by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Children and Families.
She told investigators that Francisco called her into the garage and “touched her flowers.”
In the second incident, the suspect took her to the bathroom, where he exposed himself and touched her again, the newspaper said.
The young male victim reportedly began shaking and crying as he described the assault.
Police questioned Francisco about the charges on Thursday and he was arrested on Friday.
