TAMPA -- Authorities say a mother of three helped her live-in boyfriend rape her 13-year-old daughter several times. Both adults face sexual battery charges.

Valentin Sanchez, 47, is charged with five counts of sexual battery and two counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child. The victim's mother, whose name is being withheld to protect the privacy of her children, has been charged with seven counts of sexual battery and one count of aggravated child abuse.

According to Sanchez's Oct. 24 arrest report, the victim told authorities she had been raped five times since her 13th birthday in October. Each time, she said, her mother was present and urged her to comply.

The victim's two younger sisters also told authorities they had been molested, records say.

The mother and Sanchez were being held in the Orient Road Jail without bail.

Orlando to waive fees for Florida Classic game

ORLANDO -- The city of Orlando, vying for the Florida A&M University law school, will waive rent for the city-owned Florida Citrus Bowl when FAMU's football team plays its archrival.

If the Nov. 18 Florida Classic between FAMU and Bethune-Cookman College draws the 60,000 fans as expected, the city would forgo $70,000 to $80,000. Orlando also plans to play host to a $4,000 luncheon for school leaders the day before the game. Orlando is competing with Tampa, Lakeland and Daytona Beach for the school, which could open in 2002. A committee that studied the four cities has ranked Orlando first. The Board of Regents is expected to announce where the school will be during a meeting in Miami before the game.

The football game, billed as the Florida Classic, has been played in Orlando since 1997. It was held in Tampa, but supporters of both schools thought the city was not hospitable enough.

Coast Guard fires on smuggling suspects

MIAMI -- A U.S. Coast Guard cutter fired more than 50 shots at suspected drug smugglers during a chase Saturday before authorities arrested them and seized 1,000 pounds of marijuana.

The cutter Key Largo was in international waters near Cuba late Friday when a boat was spotted inside Cuban territorial waters. The Coast Guard shadowed the 35-foot boat until it moved into international waters, then pursued the boat. When the boat refused to stop, the cutter fired 20 warning shots and then 35 rounds from a .50-caliber machine gun into the boat's engine to disable it.

A Coast Guard crew boarded the boat and found 20 packages of marijuana and three Bahamian citizens. The drugs and suspects were turned over to U.S. Customs.

Boy accused of firing BB gun at fellow students

ORMOND BEACH -- An 11-year-old boy is charged with firing a BB gun into a group of children at a school bus stop, injuring a boy and a girl.

The two 13-year-olds struck were treated for minor injuries by a nurse at Holly Hill Middle School, said Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson.

Deputies said witnesses told them the boy, who has not been named because of his age, had a brief conversation with another child at the bus stop Friday, then went home and got a pump-action BB gun, returned to the bus stop and began firing it.

Both of the shooting victims boarded the bus, but before it could leave, witnesses said, the boy stepped onto the bus steps with the BB gun in his hand and threatened another pupil.

The bus driver ordered the gun-wielding child off the bus. The boy left and as the bus pulled away, he fired a shot that struck a window, authorities say.

The 11-year-old was charged with two counts of aggravated battery and one count each of aggravated assault, shooting at an occupied vehicle and possession of a weapon by a minor.

Officials trying to identify man killed in garage fire

ST. PETERSBURG -- Investigators are trying to identify a man killed Friday in a suspicious fire at 1145 Newton Ave. S, an area known for vagrants, drug use and prostitution.

The victim, thought to be in his 30s, did not have identification and was burned beyond recognition, said fire Lt. Chris Bengivengo.

Police are awaiting results from tests of building materials to determine whether gasoline was used to start the fire, said police homicide Sgt. Mike Puetz. Results should be available Monday, he said.

Firefighters responded to the rear of the home at 3:30 a.m. The detached garage was ablaze.

The residents of the home told authorities they did not know anyone was staying in the garage, Bengivengo said. Anyone with information may call St. Petersburg police arson investigator Bill Schorn at (727) 892-5212.

Haunted house reopens after fire safety tweaked

LUTZ -- Ghouls, fiends and savages returned to Lutz's historic schoolhouse Saturday after being kept at bay the previous night by the Hillsborough County Fire Marshal. The Lutz Haunted School House, a 21-year-old fundraiser by the building's preservationists, was ordered closed Friday evening after a fire inspector found it needed better lighting, more fire extinguishers and fire-retardant materials. That forced organizers to turn away hundreds of people as they arrived for the first of a five-night run, and prompted an outcry to fire officials. Ed Davis, chief of the Lutz Volunteer Fire Department, said the fire station's phone rang repeatedly with callers asking how they could protest. He said Fire Marshal Frank Farfante called him late Friday. "He asked me if I could put a fire engine there the entire time it's open, and I told him we could," Davis said. With that, Farfante gave permission for the attraction to open, he said. "He's just concerned about somebody being killed," Davis said.

Driver thrown from vehicle, dies at hospital

TAMPA -- A man thrown from his vehicle after it struck a light pole died Friday night at TampaGeneral Hospital. The Florida Highway Patrol identified the driver as Kevin Raymond Barnes, 37,of 10103 Sherwood Lane in Riverview. According to the FHP's news release, Barnes was driving a 1995 Ford west on Causeway Boulevard when for unknown reasons the vehicle crossed the westbound lanes, rolled over onto its right side and struck a light pole about 9:16 p.m. Barnes came to rest not far from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead shortly after 10 p.m.

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