Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jhoiber De Jesus Marin-Perez, 25, a Venezuelan who has been in the area for about a month, was arrested last night and charged with sexual battery of a child under 12 years old.

According to the arrest report, Marin-Perez was staying with a family and had been sharing a room with three other people and sharing a bed with a boy under 12 years of age.

The victim reportedly asked to spend the night at a friend’s house yesterday, and when the request was denied, the victim disclosed that Marin-Perez had come home drunk the previous night, touched the victim’s genitals, and grabbed the victim’s hands and placed them on his own genitals.

In an emergency forensic interview, the child reportedly provided extensive details about Marin-Perez’s alleged actions.

Post Miranda, Marin-Perez said he has been staying in the home for about a month and that he is a bi-sexual male who has not had a sexual partner since he arrived in the United States. He said he had been drinking with friends at a pool the previous day from about 5 p.m. until about 3 a.m. and denied that anything sexual happened after he went to bed with the victim.

Marin-Perez reportedly said the victim might be saying he was molested because he may have heard Marin-Perez saying that he had been accused of raping two girls in Venezuela.

The responding Gainesville Police Department Officer noted that Marin-Perez said he was wearing the same underwear he had been wearing the previous night, and when the underwear was collected as evidence, Marin-Perez said there might be semen in the underwear because he masturbates.

Marin-Perez’s criminal history is unavailable. Judge James Colaw ordered him held without bail.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.