Man arrested for battery against Bradenton middle school student, police say
A Sarasota man was arrested on charges of lewd or lascivious battery against a Bradenton middle school student that he met on a social media app, the Bradenton Police Department said in a press release Wednesday afternoon.
Police say they were notified of a reported sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl by her mother on Tuesday, when she told investigators that her daughter failed to answer her phone, prompting her to track the device to a nearby parking lot.
That’s where she found her daughter in Aldo Manuel Garcia Fernandez’s vehicle, the release says.
Before Garcia Fernandez could leave the parking lot, police say the mother took photos of him and his license plate, which she handed over to the Bradenton Police Department.
Garcia Fernandez, 24, was arrested by the Bradenton Police Department after they tracked his vehicle to Sarasota County with the assistance of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, according to the release.
Garcia Fernandez is currently held at the Sarasota County Jail, where police say he has been charged with lewd or lascivious battery against a victim 12 years of age or older but less than 16 years of age. The charge is a second-degree felony with a maximum sentence of up to fifteen years in prison, fifteen years of sex offender probation and a $10,000 fine, according to Florida Statutes.
Police say Garcia Fernandez and the 14-year-old met on a social media app.
