Warning: The subject of this story is very graphic and may be inappropriate for some viewers.
ENGLEWOOD, Fla. (WFLA) — A 13-year-old Florida boy was raped by a man in the woods while playing seek with him and his brother, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
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The juvenile’s family reported the incident to Charlotte County deputies on April 20, according to a warrant from the Department of Homeland Security.
Investigators said that although the child is too “scary and nervous” to someone immediately, he ultimately gave his mother details about what happened to him about a week before April 13th.
The 13-year-old said he and his younger brother were playing with suspects in the backyard of his father’s house in Inglewood that day. He was hiding in the woods when a man, later identified by detectives as Samuel Cobos Carmona, approached him and began to hide in the bushes.
It is unclear exactly how the children knew Cobos Carmona, but investigators said he “became friends” with the two boys.
While in the bushes, Cobos Carmona asked for a series of disturbing questions from the 13-year-old, including whether the child wanted to touch his genitals, according to the warrant. After being told multiple times, Cobos-Carmona grabbed the child and began to hold him down, investigators said.
The victim screamed and tried to fight back, but authorities said Cobos Carmona had covered the child’s mouth with his hands and began raping him.
The detective says that Cobos Carmona stops what he is doing and runs away hearing the child’s younger brother approaching. According to the warrant, the 8-year-old found his younger brother lying on the ground in the fetal position.
The victim also told his mother that he was bleeding when he went to the bathroom later that day.
The sheriff’s office said the victim was referred to the Child Advocacy Center shortly after interviews with him, his mother and others involved in the incident.
The detective discovers Cobos-Carmona in Englewood Mowing Lawns, but finds out that he only spoke Spanish. Another aide helped authorities translate the interview with Michibata, where authorities said they had admitted that Cobos Carmona was playing with the children but denied sexual contact.
“When asked why a child victim constitutes such a story, Samuel said he didn’t know,” the warrant said.
Authorities say Cobos-Carmona was hesitant at first, but eventually agreed to submit it for a DNA test and polygraph test.
The sheriff’s office said Cobos Carmona was arrested for an indecent, sleepy battery involving victims between the ages of 12 and 16.
In a video released Thursday, Sheriff Bill Pamel said detectives learned that Cobos Carmona was illegally in the country after being first brought back to Mexico in August 2021.
He is believed to have again illegally rejoined the United States in 2022, and was discovered two years later in Sarasota. However, according to the sheriff, Cobos-Carmona was released to the community at the time.
“We’re working very hard with the State Attorney’s Office and our federal partners to ensure that this individual doesn’t see the sunlight again,” Pammel said. “And if so, to make sure he has been taken from the United States forever.”
