Yes, I agree. The odds are good that the daughter was/is telling the truth. However, stranger things have happened, and just about anything, based on the little we know now, could have actually taken place. Could even be that the young girl had a crush on him and he rejected her. Who knows at this point. In any case, IMO, there was reason-enough for the police to have at least questioned the now 18-year-old guy about it. Odds would have been great that he would have slipped up and they would have gotten the truth out of him, if he in fact did commit the crime.
This story is poorly written and confusing at best.
I love Florida for many reasons, but great journalism and crime rates appear nowhere in that list.