Posted on 06/13/2002 7:45:35 AM PDT by elcaudillo
A 30-year-old man who investigators say sexually assaulted an 11-year-old Marco Island girl, threatening to kill her during the rape if she told anyone about the attack, was arrested Tuesday night.
Marco police arrested Hicham Rhazouani of of 1786 Dogwood Drive, Marco Island, and charged him with sexual battery of a person under 12, burglary while armed and burglary with assault or battery. He was in custody Wednesday night at the Collier County jail on $200,000 bond, sheriff's officials say.
Police say the rape happened April 9 in the 1000 block of San Marco Road. The name of the victim isn't being published because of the nature of the case.
Arrest reports give this account:
Around 2:45 a.m., the girl said Rhazouani came into her room quietly and awakened her. She said she was half asleep and Rhazouani was whispering to her.
She said she could feel a small knife, which fit into his hand, held to her throat. He'd taken it from his rear pants pocket.
Before he raped her, he asked her how old she was and if she were a virgin. When the girl told him that she'd never had sex, he said, "It won't hurt. I'll be gentle."
He then sexually assaulted her, asking her where she went to school. He kept talking to her, trying to keep her quiet and threatening her by telling her he'd come back and kill her if she told anyone about the rape.
During the police investigation that night, officers learned that a white car had been seen across the street from the house. A Collier sheriff's K-9 tracking dog had picked up a scent in that area, between the girl's house and a house across the street.
Rhazouani had been chased out of the girl's house by a man who lived in the house, but Rhazouani got away, heading toward where the white car was parked.
Police questioned the owner of the house across the street, who said she rented to two foreign exchange students, whom she described as being from Egypt. Police earlier had learned that the girl's attacker was a man with an acdcent.
Last week, police interviewed a friend of Rhazouani who said Rhazouani was often out late at night drinking and hanging out at local bars and also stayed up late on the Internet. The friend also remembered seeing police at the girls home and said Rhazouani was at his home that night.
The friend's description matched that of the one given by the girl and the man who chased the suspect. Police interviewed Rhazouani who said he was staying at the house that night, that he would help and said he was "shocked that this could happen."
On Monday, police showed a photo lineup to the girl and the man who chased her suspected attacker,. Separately, each chose Rhazouani.
On Tuesday, police interviewed Rhazouani who was read his Miranda rights but who decided to talk to investigators.
He said he couldn't have committed the crime because of his religious belief. He was then told that his photo had been picked by the victim.
He then asked to confront them and prove that he is innocent. He kept declaring his innocence and when he was told there were bodily fluids that could be used to determine if he was the attacker, he stopped talking.
Rhazouani, a citizen of Morocco, said he wanted the government to provide him with an attorney and ended the interview.
Can you imagine the terrorist stopping power that 500,000 alert and communicative freepers would have. Then the power that Free Republic would have to stop the bad guys if 500,000 Freepers were monthly donors?
Last night I got an email from a retired cop lurker re the Utah kidnap situation. He said the cops are doing exactly what has to be done in cases like this.
Also, any good cop force will never release very many specifics about a serious case like which windows were locked or weren't locked. That is saved as vital evidence, and a lot of the cops will not know the specifics so they will not leak the data. He said that even though they don't know if the girl is dead, they have to treat all findings and investigations as a capital crime. Then the evidence will be collated and assembled to be presented to a grand jury to go whatever charges are necessary.
He said as usual what we are hearing is the spin of poor reporting not what the cops have found as they are not saying anything.
John Wayne in one of his Western movies.
Have you dialed up the cops?
Most likely.
Someone needs to kill him before he bails.
Sorry,can't agree. Somebody needs to kill him AFTER he bails,and is in a place and situation where he feels perfectly safe. This is a lesson these people need to learn.
I am beginning to think that mass deportations, though unfair to many, might not be such a bad idea after all.
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