WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 15-year-old boy is facing eight criminal charges after police said he sexually assaulted a victim at gunpoint and robbed her in West Palm Beach.
According to arrest documents, officers responded to a home in the Ironhorse community on March 14 after getting a call about a robbery-home invasion with sexual battery.
Upon arrival, police found the suspect inside a neighbor’s unoccupied home with a ski mask on. Once the suspect was detained, they brought the 15-year-old to the victim’s address, where she confirmed he was the alleged offender.
The victim told officers that when she returned home from shopping in the afternoon, she saw the garage door open and an unknown bicycle outside of the garage door. After the victim entered the house, she immediately saw the suspect armed with a gun in the living room. According to the arrest report, the suspect then allegedly demanded sexual acts from the victim while pointing a firearm at her.
The victim offered $400 to the suspect in an attempt to stop the lewd acts, saying she had to grab the money from a bedroom. The suspect agreed, and when the victim went into the bedroom, she alerted someone who was half-asleep that there was a man in the home with a gun.
After going back downstairs and giving the suspect cash, the victim told the suspect that more money was located in a car inside the garage.
Once in the garage, the suspect demanded sex again while allegedly pressing the gun in between her eyes, according to the arrest affidavit. The victim gave the suspect more money from the car and said she could get more cash from an 86-year-old's wallet inside the home.
The victim went back inside the home and saw the elderly person, saying she needed $100 because there was a man in the garage with a gun. In fear that the suspect would harm the 86-year-old, the victim yelled to the suspect that someone was coming. The suspect then ran away from the house.
After police found the suspect in the neighbor’s house and took him into custody, they found $342 in cash "hidden inside his pants." A loaded semi-automatic pistol was found in the closet where they caught the suspect, arrest documents say.
The 15-year-old faces three counts of armed burglary, two counts of robbery with a firearm, one charge of grand theft of a firearm, one charge of sexual assault with a weapon and a charge of burglary with assault. He is being held in the Palm Beach County jail with no bond.
