A Clermont woman was arrested after allegedly sexually battering a juvenile victim on two occasions.
A detective responded to a sexual child abuse case involving 26-year-old Shamari Ferguson at 12:25 p.m. Thursday, April 2, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. There was also an allegation that someone strangled Ferguson with a belt after they found out what happened.
In an interview with the juvenile victim, law enforcement learned that Ferguson had touched the child on two occasions. The first happened in 2024 when she touched child over clothing. The second occurred a day or two before speaking with the police, the report said.
During this incident, Ferguson took off the juvenile victim’s pants and performed oral sex. She told the child not to say anything, but they did that evening. Ferguson had not had any unsupervised contact with the juvenile victim since, the report said.
The detective notified the Lake Sumter Children’s Advocacy Center, which advised that an immediate response was not needed. CPI services scheduled a follow-up appointment with the family for the following Monday, the report said.
After being released from school, the juvenile victim was picked up around the corner from the campus. Several detectives then responded to the family residence, where the complainant who made the anonymous report to DCF stated she was the one who told them. She did not initially want to involve law enforcement directly and had hoped DCF could provide services for Ferguson, the report said.
The complainant explained that Ferguson has developmental disabilities and is high-functioning autistic. Despite her disabilities, she maintains jobs, shops for groceries on her own and walks to Walmart alone. She also receives about 40 hours of services per week through APD, the report said.
That said, the complainant advised that she came home from work on Wednesday evening to find the residence in disarray with marbles scattered throughout the living room. When she asked if everything was okay, the juvenile victim stated Ferguson had touched their private area. The complainant then confronted Ferguson, who hesitated before admitting to the sexual battery, the report said.
She subsequently denied ever strangling Ferguson with a belt. She never harmed Ferguson or used any form of physical discipline on those in the household, the report said.
The detectives moved on to interview Ferguson. She stated that while upstairs in a bedroom with the juvenile victim, they both removed their clothes. She claimed the juvenile victim began “humping her,” after which she grabbed them with her hand and performed oral sex, the report said.
Ferguson acknowledged that she knew what she had done was wrong and expressed remorse. She apologized and confirmed that since the disclosure, she had not picked up or dropped off the juvenile victim at school. She also did not supervise the juvenile victim while the complainant was at work, the report said.
She added that there was another incident that happened in 2024 where she grabbed the juvenile victim over the pants. But she claimed it was an accident while adjusting the juvenile victim’s belt, the report said.
When the complainant found out about the sexual assault, Ferguson stated she grabbed a belt, put it around her neck and pulled it tight. The belt obstructed Ferguson’s airway, but she could still breathe. She did not pass out or sustain any injuries, the report said.
Ferguson was arrested on charges of lewd or lascivious molestation (victim under 12 years of age) and sexual battery of a victim under 12 years of age by a person in familial or custodial authority. The Ohio native was booked at the Lake County Jail without bond.