You get the FR Citizien of the Week Award!
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.
You get the FR Citizien of the Week Award!
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"I have called Fox in the past when 2 of the 9-11 terrorists lived in the complex across the street from me in Delray."
Every one that lived near you made the same call. No story there.
Take a shot.
Number of Marco drug busts increasing
Friday, June 14, 2002
By VICTOR A. HILL, vahill@naplesnews.com
When it comes to illegal drugs on Marco Island, users tend to get busted for marijuana or possession of more exotic substances such as Ecstasy or heroin.
And the number of Marco drug busts is on the rise, so much so, that island police could more than double their number of arrests this year than in any year since 2000, a review of Police Department reports reveals.
The department logged 47 drug arrests by May 31, compared to 53 in 2001 and 50 in 2000. The arrests include everything from possession of narcotics paraphernalia to the bust of two crack houses May 31.
"Nothing is happening any differently. It's not like we're into a surge of drug activity," Capt. Thom Carr said.
"We're getting used to who we're dealing with."
"We're doing a better job is what those numbers are," Police Chief Roger Reinke said.
Police haven't stepped up efforts to curtail drug activity, Reinke said. Rather, officers of the department, which hit the beat three years ago, are more familiar with drug "hot spots," he said.
Officers Brian O'Malley and Hector Diaz, who handles a K- 9, recently completed a drug recognition school that taught them ways to recognize people potentially transporting drugs.
The department also received a $10,000 grant this year from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct narcotics investigations. The city added $1,100. The bulk of the money will pay for overtime hours for officers to work in areas of known drug activity such as local bars and along San Marco Road, Carr said. Officers will also increase patrol time around Tommie Barfield Elementary and Marco Island Charter Middle schools.
Despite the surge in arrests, the idea of Marco having a drug problem is a subjective assertion, at best, police said.
"We have the same drug problem as the average city in the United States has," Carr said. "I say it's better for us here because we don't have the poorer neighborhoods here. It does make it a little easier for us. We don't have people dealing drugs off the corner."
Detective Kevin Hennings, a former narcotics investigator in Fort Pierce who took the position in February after a stint as a beat cop, agreed.
"Define 'problem,'" he said. "I mean, me personally, if I had a crack dealer living next door to me, it would definitely be a problem."
The May 31 drug arrest of 53-year-old Falco Giancarlo, accused of manufacturing and selling crack and powdered cocaine from two apartments at Marco Manor, added another drug into the mix on an island known for occasional busts, usually involving marijuana, Ecstasy or heroin.
"It's whatever people want," Carr said. "Cocaine was for the rich, but because it's so cheap and plentiful now, anyone can get it."
Giancarlo's arrest came after lengthy surveillance by Marco police and relied on an anonymous informant to make drug purchases.
Hennings and Carr said they expect more arrests in the months to come but declined to elaborate.
Like a casual drug user who seeks a bigger, better fix, Marco has graduated as well, Hennings said.
"If we didn't send a message when we hit those apartments, we will be soon," Hennings said. "Expect it."
Talk about being vindicated FAST. He needs a heads up about this, he can use this info right now. He would be very motivated to help with publicity.
Remember...Marco Island is about 7 miles in diameter at most....is all of this necessary? Or is there really more to the ever growing picture here?
State committee on terrorism chaired by Chief Murphy
Wednesday, June 12, 2002
By VICTOR A. HILL, Staff Writer
When the planes crashed, when the towers fell, firefighters and police were the protectors, the first ones on the scene.
To protect Florida against such destruction and loss of life, Marco Island's own fire chief, Michael Murphy, has quietly chaired a state committee on terrorism in the months since Sept. 11, working to obtain more equipment to combat threats to domestic security.
He heads up the State Working Group on Domestic Preparedness through next year. It was previously a committee of 25 officials from local and state agencies. But after Sept. 11, the committee grew to more than 50 members with a half-dozen subcommittees that investigate ways to deal with terrorism and methods to streamline cooperation among agencies.
Since then, local fire and police departments have benefited from the group's work, including Marco Island, which re ceived about $70,000 worth of high-tech equipment such as radiation detectors, decontamination equipment and computers. Other county agencies will receive equipment as well, Murphy said. The allocation is part of a $9.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Murphy doesn't see Marco's share of equipment as an indication the island could be a target for terrorism.
"All American cities have the potential for terrorism," he said.
"It can take many forms, wheth er it's an attack on a visiting dignitary or someone who lives in the community and has ties to various organizations who could become a target.
"I don't think anybody needs to be paranoid about terrorism, but they need to be aware of it, and terrorism isn't new to the United States."
The fallout of Sept. 11 only adds to concerns committee members already had, Murphy said. As an example, abortion clinics have been targets of domestic terrorism for years.
"Terrorism is here, and it has been," he said.
Florida officials took a lead in establishing measures to combat terrorist activity before Sept. 11. Florida was one of only two states approved for grant money from the Department of Justice and was one of only four states that had a plan to deal with terrorism, Murphy said.
"What Florida did a little bit differently is it drove money and resources down to a basic level and put it in the hands of people who do the job," he said.
"It didn't try to create a level of bureaucracy."
Under the committee's guidance, state and local law enforcement and rescue workers agreed to share resources and intelligence.
The committee is working to coordinate a consistent system of communication among agencies so fire departments and state agencies speak the same lingo, Murphy said.
"Each group is going to operate on the same page," he said.
Marco is part of a 10-county regional task force coordinated by Collier County Sheriff Don Hunter.
A truely great American and even greater Pastor!!
Good work!
I would give Marco Island a five diamond rating for the discriminating terrorist.
Boy, this guy can really spin!! He should get some kind of an award for hiding an operation in plain sight. Too bad he wasn't on to this guy. (Or maybe he was, and wasn't ready to close in, before this guy lost control of his desires)
"...I'd doubt that they'd testify against one another..."
Why?
. . . . do they all 'Look Alike' to each other, too ??
Spot on...
The arrest happened right after this story came out later that night.....
He's the man! And dittoes to Rev. Graham for the courage to address the convention with it. Could you contact Rev. Vines? He definitely needs to be made aware of this.
In the meantime, I found the contact page for the Southern Baptists Convention and already sent a "heads up" message about this story. If anyone would like to send a statement of support, here it is: Contact page for Southern Baptist Convention
I wonder if there is any chance that the rape never occurred, and was just a cover story to justify holding this guy so he couldn't bolt. On the other hand, they didn't need to do that for the guy they've got in the brig in Charleston, so my speculation is likely offbase.
You have contacted the FBI about this subhuman. Now you need to contact the appropriate District Attorney with the information you have about his 9/11 activities and how he is a potential/likely flight risk. He needs to be held here and not released and you can probably have an effect on that if you get the right information to the right person in the DA's office. Call first thing tomorrow morning.
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