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Teen charged in girl's sexual battery
By TAMARA LUSH, Times Staff Writer
TAMPA -- A 16-year-old Valrico boy was arrested Friday and charged with the sexual battery of a 9-year-old girl in her Valrico home. David Patrick Johnson, of 17 Marjo Drive, was taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center. Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies said the girl and her mother were visiting a friend in their gated subdivision on Wednesday night. The girl decided to walk home alone, a few houses away. Johnson watched as the girl walked into her house, authorities said. Johnson entered the home through a back door, struck the girl and sexually battered her, said Chief Deputy David Gee. The girl's mother walked into the house a few minutes later. Johnson ran out the back door, Gee said. "It all happened within a matter of moments." Deputies and detectives descended on the neighborhood. The victim gave enough information for a detailed composite sketch; she also said her attacker was wearing a red sweat shirt. Through "good old-fashioned police work," Gee said the deputies found Johnson at his home, about a mile from the victim's house. Johnson has a criminal record, but authorities would not release it because he was charged as a juvenile. It will be up to the state attorney whether to charge Johnson as an adult.
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From the Times |
