A man was arrested Tuesday and charged with raping a child in a Cedar Hill area home earlier in the day, according to court records.
Police got the call around 9:40 p.m. and met with the victim's mother, who said she had just gotten home from work when a family member told her he'd found Alejandro Velasquez, 36, sexually assaulting her daughter, who is under 10 years of age.
The mother told police Velasquez was a family friend, but she didn't know why he was in her home that night.
Alejandro Velasquez (right2know.timesfreepress.com)The family member, who was supposed to be watching the child, told police he left the house for a short time to use the wireless internet at a friend's house.
When he returned, he found Velasquez under a blanket with the child on the living room floor and could tell Velasquez was sexually assaulting the girl, court records state.
The family member then pulled Velasquez off the girl and beat him until he left the home.
Both the family member and the mother asked the child what Velasquez had been doing, and she described what would be classified as rape, court records show.
Crime scene investigators were called to collect evidence, including DNA, which was found throughout the home, court records state. The child was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Police later located Velasquez and took him into custody for questioning, where he denied touching the girl inappropriately.
He said he was at the mother's house to take a shower, "as he often does," and fell asleep on the floor "because of all the beer and rum," according to court records.
Based on the witness and victim statements, in addition to the DNA evidence found at the scene, officers charged Velasquez with aggravated sexual battery, which then was upgraded to child rape.
Rape of a child is a Class A felony, and if found guilty Velasquez would face a minimum of 25 years in prison.
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