Mugshot of Maximiliano Velasquez Jr. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. CROIX — A man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor family member, who immediately reported the incident to another person in the residence.
According to court documents, a woman went to police on July 18 to report that a minor family member was sexually assaulted by an older relative, Maximiliano Velasquez Jr. The woman reported that she had left home earlier that week to go to the supermarket, leaving Velasquez and the young girl behind. Upon her return, the girl informed her that her adult male relative had put his hand down her shirt.
When confronted, Velasquez reportedly admitted to the incident and apologized, saying that he didn’t know what had gotten into him.
The girl confirmed the details to police, saying that when Velasquez began touching her in that way, she immediately ran out of the room to tell someone else who was in the residence. She told officers that she felt uncomfortable and afraid following the incident.
Velasquez himself turned up at the police station on Monday morning and admitted to police that he had put his hand down the girl’s shirt while they were sitting together in the living room. He repeated his apology and once again said that he did not know why he had done that.
He was immediately arrested and charged with first-degree unlawful sexual contact and child abuse.
Following his arrest, Velasquez appeared before Judge Ernest Morris Jr., who found probable cause to uphold the assault and abuse charges against him, dropping the domestic violence charge. Bail was set at $60,000, and Mr. Velasquez was permitted to sign an unsecured bond for the full amount.
Once released from detention, he will be placed on 24-hour house arrest with electronic monitoring. His next court appearance is scheduled for August 7.
Correction: July 24, 2024 at 7:33 a.m.
In a previous version of this article, it was incorrectly stated that the man arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor family member was the same individual awaiting trial for a 2020 incident involving the sexual assault of two children. This was incorrect. The individual currently awaiting trial for the 2020 incident is the son of the recently arrested man, and they share the same name. We apologize for the error and any confusion it may have caused.
